Trump Threatens to Bomb Iranian Power Plants and Bridges in What Experts Call Potential War Crime

Trump Sets Deadline, Promises "Hell"

President Donald Trump spent his Monday news conference threatening to blow up every bridge and power plant in Iran unless the country reopens the Strait of Hormuz -- a shipping chokepoint through which 20% of the world's oil normally flows -- by Tuesday night.

"I hope I don't have to do it," Trump said, before warning that every power plant will be "burning, exploding and never to be used again."

When asked if he's concerned about committing war crimes, Trump replied: "Not at all."

The threats represent an escalation in a conflict now entering its second month. Shipping through the strait has been all but halted, sending oil prices soaring and roiling the stock market. Trump has previously threatened to bomb Kharg Island (central to Iran's oil industry) and desalination plants that provide drinking water to Iranian civilians.

On Easter Sunday, Trump posted an expletive-laden message on Truth Social warning Iran would face "Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one," adding "you'll be living in Hell" unless the strait reopens.

Legal Experts: This Would Be a War Crime

Military law scholars and UN officials say Trump's threats -- if carried out as described -- would violate international law governing armed conflict.

"What Trump is saying is, 'We don't care about precision, we don't care about impact on civilians, we're just going to take out all of Iranian power generating capacity,'" said Rachel VanLandingham, a Southwestern Law School professor and retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who served as a judge advocate general.

VanLandingham pointed out that cutting power to hospitals and water treatment plants would kill civilians. "This strikes me as clearly a threat of unlawful action," said Michael Schmitt, a professor emeritus at the U.S. Naval War College and an international law professor at the University of Reading in Britain.

A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Monday that attacking civilian infrastructure is banned under international law. Even if specific infrastructure qualifies as a military objective, Stephane Dujarric said, an attack would still be prohibited if it risks "excessive incidental civilian harm."

The Legal Standard Trump Appears to Ignore

Under the laws of armed conflict, a power facility can be attacked if it provides electricity to a military base in addition to civilians -- but the strike must not "cause disproportionate harm to the civilian population," and commanders must do everything possible to minimize that harm, Schmitt explained.

Harm doesn't mean inconvenience or fear. It means severe mental suffering, physical injury, or illness.

Military commanders should consider alternatives like targeting a substation or transmission lines feeding a military base before destroying an entire power plant, Schmitt said. "If you look at the operation and you've got a valid military objective, but it's going to cause harm to civilians and you go, 'Whoa, that's a lot,' then you should stop. If you hesitate to take the shot, don't take the shot."

Trump's threat was so broad it did not appear to account for civilian harm at all.

White House: Iranians "Welcome the Sound of Bombs"

When asked for comment, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly offered a chilling response: "The Iranian people welcome the sound of bombs because it means their oppressors are losing."

Kelly added that "the Iranian regime has committed egregious human rights abuses against its own citizens for 47 years, just murdered tens of thousands of protestors in January, and has indiscriminately targeted civilians across the region."

The White House did not explain how bombing civilian power plants and water infrastructure would help the Iranian people rather than kill them.

Republicans Defend, Democrats Condemn

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said Trump is "absolutely not" threatening a war crime, arguing that civilian infrastructure is also used by the military. "If he needs leverage, he's using that leverage," Ernst said.

But Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland called it a "textbook war crime" to target civilian infrastructure.

The gap between Trump's apocalyptic rhetoric and his eventual actions has been wide in the past. But his warnings about power plants and bridges have been unambiguous and repeated across multiple days, suggesting this is more than bluster.

As the Tuesday night deadline approaches, the question is whether Trump will follow through on threats that legal experts say would constitute one of the clearest violations of international humanitarian law by a U.S. president in modern history.