U.S. President Donald Trump warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight” as he signaled a possible escalation of U.S. strikes on Iran to include energy infrastructure, hours before a deadline he set for Tehran to reach a deal.
“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 Truth Social. “However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?”
Israel strikes across Iran
“We will find out tonight… 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end,” he added.
Vice President JD Vance said the U.S.-led military campaign against Iran is nearing its conclusion, stating that key military objectives have been achieved and the war could end “very shortly.”
Speaking in Budapest, Vance said the United States has significantly degraded Iran’s military capabilities and its ability to threaten key shipping routes, while adding that Tehran “has not been the fastest negotiator.”
He said Washington remains confident it could still receive a response from Iran by 8 p.m., ahead of Trump’s deadline.
Trump has warned that if Iran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. could expand its campaign to target energy infrastructure, including power plants and bridges.
His comments came as the U.S. and Israel continued strikes across Iran, including on the country’s most critical oil export hub.
A senior U.S. official told Axios, cited by Reuters, that the U.S. military carried out strikes on military targets on Kharg Island, while Fox News reported “dozens” of strikes overnight.
According to a U.S. official cited by Fox, the targets included bunkers, radar stations and ammunition storage sites. Landing docks were not intentionally targeted unless Iranian forces operated from nearby.
Kharg Island handles roughly 90% of Iran’s oil exports, making it one of the country’s most strategically important economic assets.
Iranian media reported explosions on the island, while the IDF initially said it was not aware of a strike there.
Elsewhere, strikes hit infrastructure across Iran. Etemadonline reported a bridge on the Tabriz-Zanjan highway in the northwest was targeted, while IRNA said a strike on a railway bridge in Kashan killed two people.
Strikes on railways in Iran
Additional reports pointed to further damage to infrastructure across Iran. Etemadonline said a bridge on the Tabriz-Zanjan highway in the northwest was hit, while Iran’s state news agency IRNA, citing a provincial official, reported that a strike on a railway bridge in Kashan killed two people.
Nournews reported that electricity was disrupted in parts of Karaj after projectiles struck transmission lines.
In a warning carried by Iranian media, the IRGC said neighboring states should understand that “restraint has ended” and that it would use U.S. and allied infrastructure to deny Washington and its partners access to regional oil and gas for years.
“America’s regional partners should also know that until now, we exercised great restraint for the sake of good neighborly relations and had several considerations in choosing strike targets, but all those considerations have now been removed,” the warning said.
Qatar’s foreign ministry warned that the conflict was nearing a point where it could “get out of control,” saying there would be “no winners” if the war continued.
The warning came as the IDF said it had completed a broad wave of strikes on dozens of targets across Iran, including infrastructure and bridges aimed at disrupting the movement of weapons by the IRGC.
The IDF said it struck a petrochemical complex in Shiraz, describing it as one of the few remaining facilities producing chemical components essential for explosives and ballistic missiles. The military said the site was used to produce nitric acid, a key ingredient in explosives and missile development.
Strikes outside Tehran
Previous strikes had already hit Iran’s largest petrochemical plant and another major complex in Mahshahr, leaving the Shiraz site among the last of its kind, according to the IDF.
“In parallel, the IDF struck a large-scale ballistic missile site in northwestern Iran,” the military said, adding that dozens of missiles had been launched from that site toward Israel.
Iranian reports also described explosions in several other locations, including Tehran, Qom and Khorramabad Airport in Lorestan province, along with earlier strikes on a residential area in Hamedan.
Iranian state television said at least 18 people were killed in an airstrike in Alborz province in northern Iran. It also reported strikes on residential areas in eastern and western Tehran, as well as Mehrabad Airport and an electrical facility. Claims about damage to a synagogue could not be independently verified.
Separately, Iran International reported a large explosion at the Parchin complex southeast of Tehran, a sensitive defense industry site linked to missile production and military manufacturing.
The IDF has also said that more than 130 Iranian air defense systems have been destroyed in recent precision strikes.
The latest escalation comes as Trump’s deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz approaches, with Washington warning it could target energy infrastructure and bridges if Tehran fails to comply.
First published: 14:16, 04.07.26