By Jacki Thrapp

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to target Iran’s power plants and bridges on April 7 if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on April 5.

Trump went on to say that if the Iranian regime does not open the strait, it will be “living in Hell.”

Hours later, he wrote in another post, “Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!”

This led to speculation that this would be the deadline set for the regime.

The president previously warned that Iran’s infrastructure would be targeted if it did not open the Strait of Hormuz by April 6.

The Strait of Hormuz is a crucial passageway located just south of Iran used to transport one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas. A majority of the oil and gas that passed through the waterway went to Asia, while the United States and Europe were buying about 3 percent and 4 percent, respectively, of the crude moving through the strait.

Trump also told Fox News’s Trey Yingst that he is considering taking over the oil controlled by Iran if a deal is not made.

But there is a chance that tensions will not escalate, according to Yingst, who said Trump told the media outlet that he believed that Iran would make a deal with the United States by April 6.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

On April 2, Trump posted a video showing U.S. forces destroying sections of a major bridge near the Iranian capital city of Tehran.

“It is time for Iran to make a deal before it is too late, and there is nothing left of what still could become a great country!” Trump said on Truth Social in all caps.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps suggested that it would launch additional retaliatory strikes if the United States were to target its infrastructure, according to an article published by state-run PressTV on April 5.

“If attacks on civilian facilities are repeated, the next phase of the operation will be more intense and broader in scope,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps stated.

It did not elaborate on what, specifically, the strikes would target, but the Iranian regime previously threatened to target American companies in the region such as Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon.

Trump’s post about bombing Iran’s infrastructure received mixed reactions.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said it would be an understatement to say that the window on diplomacy was closing.

“He is deadly serious when it comes to his ultimatum to Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face a massive military response against vital infrastructure,” Graham said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticized Trump’s post.

“Happy Easter, America,” he wrote on X. “As you head off to church and celebrate with friends and family, the President of the United States is … threatening possible war crimes and alienating allies.”

Iran’s U.N. delegation urged the United Nations to “not remain silent” as Trump threatened to target civilian infrastructure.

“The international community and all States have legal obligations to prevent such atrocious acts of war crimes,” its account wrote on X. “They must act now. Tomorrow is too late.”

Pope Leo XIV, who was born in Chicago, shared a message of peace during his first Easter Mass as pontiff in Vatican City on April 5.

“Let those who have weapons lay them down,” the pope said. “Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace. Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue. Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them.”

Trump’s threats of escalating the war against the Iranian regime came after an intense search-and-rescue mission successfully saved two U.S. service members whose F-15 Strike Eagle fighter jet was shot down over Iran on April 2.

One service member was rescued quickly as the U.S. military conducted a days-long search for the second F-15 crew member.

“We have rescued the seriously wounded, and really brave, F-15 Crew Member/Officer, from deep inside the mountains of Iran,” Trump said on the morning of April 5.

“The Iranian Military was looking hard, in big numbers, and getting close. He is a highly respected Colonel. This type of raid is seldom attempted because of the danger to ‘man and equipment.’ It just doesn’t happen!”

Trump called the rescue an “Easter miracle” in a text message to Kristen Welker, moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“The Iranians thought they had him, but it wasn’t even close, and remember, we got two, but couldn’t talk about the first in that it would have highlighted that there was a second,” he said. “Such a rescue has never happened before in so violent an enemy territory.”

Senior Israeli officials told Epoch Magazine in Israel that the country had provided intelligence assistance and established a “ring of fire” in the area to help support the mission, which included dozens of U.S. aircraft.

The Trump administration is expected to reveal additional information about the rescue in a news conference with military members on April 6 at 1 p.m.

Trump suggested during a prime-time speech on April 1 that America’s strategic objectives in Iran were nearing completion but did not say when the war would end.

Senior Israeli officials told Epoch Magazine in Israel on April 3 that attempts to secure a peace deal between Tehran and Washington have not been successful.

Pakistan offered to host peace talks between the United States and Iran to end the conflict that started when the United States and Israel launched a joint operation against the regime on Feb. 28, killing dozens of top regime officials, including Iranian leader Ali Khamenei.

Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said that both countries “expressed their confidence” in Pakistan to host the peace talks but that a date was not set.

Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Seyed Abbas Araghchi suggested in an April 4 post on X that Iran’s position was being “misrepresented.”