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As Trump's deadline approaches, Iranian leaders respond in defiance
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Special Series Middle East conflict Conflict in the Middle East has been escalating. These stories provide context for current developments and the history that led up to them.
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"A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will," Trump wrote on his social media platform.
Economy Beer cans, helium balloons and mortgages: An unexpected mix of things affected by war The president has been escalating his threats over the past weeks to obliterate Iranian bridges, power plants and water treatment facilities. Wide-scale destruction of infrastructure, without distinction between civilian and military objects, would be considered a war crime under international and U.S. law, legal experts tell NPR.
The U.S. struck military targets early Tuesday on Kharg Island, a U.S. official told NPR.
In Iraq, an Iranian-backed militia announced it has released American journalist Shelly Kittleson a week after kidnapping her in Baghdad.
struck Iran's Kharg Island early Tuesday, a U.S. official confirmed to NPR.
The island is Iran's oil export hub on the Persian Gulf, but the official said the targets were not oil infrastructure — they were "restrikes" on sites the U.S. hit previously. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak about it publicly.
It is unclear what the purpose of the strikes was. President Trump previously threatened to seize control of the island and oil facilities.
Iranian officials reacted defiantly hours before President Trump's ultimatum was due, with Iran's president saying he is willing to die along with millions of Iranians to defend his country.
Middle East conflict Trump reiterates threats to bomb Iran's power plants and bridges "More than 14 million proud Iranians have so far registered to sacrifice their lives to defend Iran. I too have been, am, and will remain devoted to giving my life for Iran," Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media.
Majid Saeedi/Getty Images hide caption
That followed a call late Monday by Iran's deputy minister of sports and youth, Alireza Rahimi, for "young people, cultural and artistic figures, athletes" to form human chains next to the power plants across Iran. "Attacking public infrastructure is a war crime," Rahimi wrote.
Images from Iran have showed Iranians showing up and waving the national flag around power facilities and public squares in different parts of the country.
Iran's ambassador in Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, said on Tuesday that Pakistan's efforts to stop the war are "approaching a critical, sensitive" period.
But Moghadam sounded less enthusiastic in an interview with state-run media, where he set out the country's position: "A complete cessation of the war is Tehran's maximum demand in the process of peace diplomacy," adding, "with a guarantee of nonrepetition of aggression."
Moghadam also warned Gulf countries, which he did not name, to "pay attention to their conditions and relations with Iran." He warned: "Know that sooner or later America will leave this region by accepting defeat and you will stay."
Earlier, Iranian state media said the government rejected U.S. demands, transferred by intermediaries, and presented a plan of its own.
Iran's 10-point proposal included a guarantee that Iran would not be attacked again, an end to Israeli strikes against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and removal of sanctions in exchange for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran imposing a $2 million fee for every ship moving through the key waterway, according to The New York Times.
Middle East conflict Iran rejects a U.S. ceasefire plan as Trump again threatens to bomb its infrastructure Israel had issued a warning to Iranians to avoid travel by train and to stay away from railway tracks.
It also said it struck a ballistic missile site in northwestern Iran and infrastructure across the country.
Russia and China vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution put forth by Bahrain that would have demanded that Iran stop all attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
He criticized the council for failing to back his resolution.
The draft did not mention U.S. and Israeli attacks or threats to strike Iranian bridges, power plants and other civilian infrastructure.
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− By
NPR Staff
A man sits among buildings destroyed in a joint attack by Israel and the United States in Tehran, Iran, Monday.
+ By
NPR Staff
A man sits among buildings destroyed in a joint attack by Israel and the United States in Tehran, Iran, on Monday.
− Majid Saeedi/Getty Images hide caption
President Trump threatened to annihilate the Iranian nation if a deal is not reached to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m.
+ Majid Saeedi/Getty Images hide caption
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President Trump threatened to annihilate the Iranian nation if a deal is not reached to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m.
+
Here are more updates on the war in Iran today:
Shelly Kittleson freed | Kharg Island | Iran's president willing to die | Iranian envoy on negotiations | Strikes in the region | Hormuz U.N.
− NPR is working to confirm she has been freed.
+ resolution vetoed
U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a cellphone photo in a cafe in Baghdad, Iraq, March 30. AP hide caption
An Iran-backed militia in Iraq says it is releasing American journalist Shelly Kittleson one week after kidnapping her in Baghdad.
− Here are more updates on the war in Iran today:
Kharg Island | Iran's president willing to die | Iranian envoy on negotiations | Strikes in the region | Hormuz resolution vetoed
The U.S.
+ Kataib Hezbollah, one of Iraq's most powerful Iran-backed paramilitaries, announced it was releasing Kittleson in appreciation of "the patriotic positions" of Iraq's prime minister, who was helping negotiate her release.
+ It said she had to leave the country immediately.
The Iraqi and U.S. governments did not immediately comment.
When Kittleson was kidnapped last week, the U.S. State Department said it had warned her of threats against her beforehand, and that it was working with the FBI to secure her release. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has said all American citizens should leave Iraq because of attacks.
Kataib Hezbollah is not related to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. It is part of a coalition of Iran-backed militias that have been attacking U.S. military and government targets in Iraq. The U.S. and Israel have launched airstrikes in response.
The U.S.
− Doctors and medical staff hold a demonstration regarding recent attacks on hospitals in Tehran, Iran, Monday.
+ Doctors and medical staff hold a demonstration in response to recent attacks on hospitals in Tehran, Iran, on Monday.
− Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is stepping up its attacks against Iran, hitting railways and bridges he says are used to transport weapons and military equipment and regime operatives.
+ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is stepping up its attacks against Iran, hitting railways and bridges he says are used to transport weapons, military equipment and regime operatives.
− He says the strikes weren't aimed against civilians but to crush the regime.
+ He says the strikes aren't aimed against civilians but are to crush the regime.
− The warning was posted on social media but the internet has been largely shut down across the country.
+ The warning was posted on social media, but the internet has been largely shut down across Iran.
− Earlier, Israel's military said it attacked one of the "few remaining" petrochemical facilities producing ballistic missile and explosive material in Shiraz, in southern Iran.
+ Earlier, Israel's military said it attacked one of the "few remaining" petrochemical facilities producing ballistic missile and explosive material, in Shiraz, in southern Iran.
− People walk among buildings destroyed in a joint attack by Israel and the United States in Tehran, Iran, on Monday.
+ A person stands among debris near a destroyed building after a joint attack by Israel and the United States in Tehran, Iran, on Monday.
− Majid Saeedi/Getty Images hide caption
Iran retaliated by firing missiles in central Israel, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, forcing the closure of the key King Fahd bridge between the two Gulf countries.
+ Majid Saeedi/Getty Images hide caption
Iran retaliated by firing missiles into central Israel, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, forcing the closure of the key King Fahd Causeway between the two Gulf countries.
− Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said it was assessing damage on its energy facility caused by falling debris from dozens of ballistic missiles and drones intercepted by its air defense systems on Tuesday.
+ Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said it was assessing damage to its energy facilities caused by falling debris from dozens of ballistic missiles and drones intercepted by its air defense systems on Tuesday.
− The United Arab Emirates said its air defense systems engaged with incoming missiles and drones on Tuesday, while Kuwait's army said it shot down 17 "hostile drones" in the past 24 hours.
+ The United Arab Emirates said its air defense systems engaged with incoming missiles and drones on Tuesday, while Kuwait's army said it had shot down 17 "hostile drones" in the past 24 hours.
− Bahrain's foreign minister says Iran has no right to close the Strait of Hormuz — which has impacts on food and energy security around the globe.
+ Bahrain's foreign minister says Iran has no right to close the Strait of Hormuz, which has impacts on food and energy security around the globe.
− U.S.
+ The U.S.
− Ambassador to the U.N.
+ ambassador to the U.N., Mike Waltz, echoed that, saying: "No one should tolerate that they are holding the global economy at gunpoint, but today, Russia and China did tolerate it."
The resolution would have called on Iran to stop all attacks on civilian infrastructure.
− Mike Waltz echoed that, saying "No one should tolerate that they are holding the global economy at gunpoint, but today, Russia and China did tolerate it."
The resolution would have called on Iran to stop all attacks on civilian infrastructure.
+
Representatives from Russia and China said the resolution was "unbalanced" against Iran.
"It doesn't even touch upon the root cause of the situation ...
− Russia argues that the path to de-escalation starts with the U.S.
+ in a very unbalanced manner, only accuse Iran," Chinese Ambassador to the U.N.
− halting its attacks.
+ Fu Cong said in a video interview he shared on social media. "The timing is very bad — we all heard what the U.S. president has said. And against this background we think it is extremely dangerous for the Security Council to adopt a resolution like this."
Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, said Russia and China were proposing an alternative resolution that would include maritime security.
− Daniel Estrin and Carrie Kahn in Tel Aviv, Israel, Diaa Hadid in Mumbai, India, and Michele Kelemen, Tina Kraja and Alex Leff in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
+ Iranian Ambassador to the U.N. Amir-Saeid Iravani hailed the veto. "Russia and China ensured the Security Council would not be instrumentalized to legitimize aggression," he said.
+ Daniel Estrin and Carrie Kahn in Tel Aviv, Israel; Jane Arraf in Amman, Jordan; Diaa Hadid in Mumbai, India; and Michele Kelemen, Tina Kraja and Alex Leff in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.