Iran rejected a proposal from the U.S. and regional mediators to end hostilities for 45 days in exchange for opening the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump said he had seen Tehran’s counterproposal and it’s “not good enough” for a cease-fire, though he called it “a significant step.”
During a news conference at the White House on Monday, Trump said, “The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night.” Trump earlier said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that Iran “won’t have any power plants and they won’t have any bridges standing” if a deal to reopen the strait isn’t reached by Tuesday evening. The U.S. military is making preparations for potential strikes on energy targets in Iran, according to multiple U.S. officials.
Smoke rises over Azadi Square following a strike, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, April 6, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Social Media via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.
Trump also described in detail the dramatic search and rescue mission to retrieve two airmen in Iran, calling it “a rescue that’s very historic.”
The president said the U.S. has launched an investigation into how news of a missing airman leaked to the media.
Israel said it had struck Iran’s largest petrochemical site and killed the spy chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Trump earlier said the U.S. attempted to send arms to the Iranian people to fight the regime, but intermediaries kept the guns.
Trump Slams NATO as ‘Paper Tiger’
“NATO didn’t help us,” Trump said. “But Saudi Arabia has been excellent. Qatar has been excellent. U.A.E. has been excellent.” Trump is scheduled to meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Washington on Wednesday.
