On the Eve of D-Day, Trump Threatens Iran With a Cataclysm

US President Donald Trump increased pressure on Tehran by threatening Iran with total destruction. "The entire country could be destroyed in a single night, and that night could well be tomorrow (Tuesday)", the American president said during a press conference.

Trump had set a Tuesday evening ultimatum before bombing energy infrastructure in Iran. He stated that he was not "worried" about the risk of committing war crimes when a journalist questioned him about his threat to destroy power plants. « The "war crime" would be to let Iran acquire nuclear weapons », the president retorted, referring to the mullahs' regime's repression of demonstrations: "They kill protesters. They are animals".

However, the world had hoped for de-escalation after reports of mediation by third countries. But Iranians and Americans almost simultaneously rejected truce offers on Monday, with President Trump nonetheless hailing a "very significant" step in the conflict. 

The White House confirmed that mediating countries had proposed a 45-day cessation of hostilities, adding that Donald Trump had not "validated" this idea.

"It's not good enough yet, but it's a very significant step," the American president himself said during an exchange with journalists on the sidelines of an Easter ceremony at the White House.

Donald Trump also stated that "if it were up to him," he would seize Iranian oil but added that "unfortunately, Americans would want us to go home." "They are stupid," he replied to the journalist who asked him what he thought of the opposition of a majority of Americans to the conflict, confirmed in all polls.

According to the American news website Axios, Turkish, Egyptian, and Pakistani mediators discussed a two-phase proposal: a 45-day ceasefire to first allow negotiations, before leading to an agreement to end the war, which began on February 28. Meanwhile, the Iranian news agency Irna stated that Tehran had rejected a ceasefire proposal, whose content was not specified, brought by Pakistan.

Trump's latest demands focused on a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial choke point for global oil and gas trade, now de facto controlled by Iran. He had, however, previously stated several times that the fate of the strait was indifferent to him and insisted that he would make the decision to conclude military operations or not, independently of any negotiation.

Two Iranian petrochemical complexes hit

On the ground, two Iranian petrochemical complexes were struck. According to Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, "about half of the country's petrochemical production" was destroyed. The Iranian news agency Fars reported "several explosions" at this gigantic site, which also houses the country's largest gas facility. These Israeli strikes are strategically essential because Iran produces a portion of the solid fuel used in missile manufacturing there. Western intelligence agencies reported the arrival, in Iranian ports located before the Strait of Hormuz, of several shipments of chemical precursors used in the missile industry, originating from China.

In addition to infrastructure, Iranian leaders were targeted : the Revolutionary Guards announced that their intelligence chief, Majid Khademi, had been killed. The Israeli army also announced on Sunday that it had eliminated the commander of the special operations unit of Iran's Quds Force, the branch responsible for the Guards' external operations, during a strike in Tehran.

In Lebanon, new information regarding the strike that targeted an apartment in Ain Saadeh reported the presence of a tenant for a few days preceding the attack. Investigators found a revolver and water bottles on site. Other media, citing a Lebanese army statement, had announced that the apartment was uninhabited.

Executions continue in Iran

On another front, Iran on Monday hanged another man sentenced to death in connection with the January protests, as executions of individuals considered by NGOs to be political prisoners multiply amidst the war against Israel and the United States. Seven men had been sentenced to death in February. Four of them, including teenagers, have since been executed, leaving the other three exposed to an imminent risk of execution, according to NGOs.

After an initial pause following the outbreak of war on February 28, Iranian authorities executed several political prisoners, according to the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR). IHR states that the accused were "subjected to torture and deprived of access to a lawyer," then sentenced to death after an expedited, "grossly unfair" trial, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati. This judge was sanctioned in 2019 by the United States, which claims he is known as the "judge of death" due to his frequent use of capital punishment. 

"These executions are part of the Islamic Republic's survival strategy, which is waging a war against its own people in the shadow of an external conflict," said IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. "The international community must react urgently. The situation of prisoners and the regime's systematic use of the death penalty must become a central condition for any negotiation or engagement with the Islamic Republic," he added.

For Amnesty International, these executions show that the judicial system is "a tool of repression, sending individuals to the gallows to sow fear and take revenge on those who demand fundamental political change."