Trump Threatens to "Eradicate" Iran as Deadline Looms -- Experts Say It Would Be a War Crime

Trump Sets Arbitrary Deadline, Threatens Mass Civilian Casualties

President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to Iran on Monday that military law experts say crosses the line into threats of war crimes: agree to his terms by 8 p.m. Tuesday, or watch "a whole civilization die tonight."

Trump didn't stop at vague threats. He explicitly promised to destroy "every bridge and power plant" in Iran if the country doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz -- attacks on civilian infrastructure that would plunge millions into darkness, cut off transportation networks, and potentially kill countless noncombatants.

"Very little is off the table," Trump said, apparently including the wholesale destruction of a nation's basic utilities in his definition of acceptable military action.

Legal experts in military law told NBC News that such far-reaching destruction of civilian infrastructure could constitute war crimes under international humanitarian law. Iran's U.N. envoy Amir-Saeid Iravani went further, calling Trump's threats "incitement to war crimes and potentially genocide."

U.S. and Israeli Strikes Already Underway

The threats aren't hypothetical. U.S. forces have already struck military targets on Iran's Kharg Island oil hub, according to a White House official. Israeli warplanes have hit bridges and railways inside Iran, while continuing strikes near the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant -- raising fears of radiological disaster.

The World Health Organization's director general warned that military operations near nuclear facilities "could lead to a severe radiological accident, with serious and long-term health consequences for people now and for generations to come."

Iran has responded with seven separate missile barrages on Tuesday alone, targeting Tel Aviv, central Israel, and parts of the occupied West Bank. An elderly couple and their son were killed in one attack and buried in Haifa. Hezbollah continued firing on northern Israeli communities as the region spirals toward all-out war.

Tehran Residents Brace for Darkness and Economic Collapse

Inside Iran, the impact is already devastating. A construction engineer in Tehran, speaking anonymously to the Associated Press for safety reasons, described a population gripped by fear and economic freefall.

"Because of this, workers and employees, and people who are losing their jobs and income are becoming against the war," the engineer said. "There is a huge amount of fear about tonight."

Strikes on power infrastructure have already left hundreds of thousands unemployed. Only those with financial means are buying generators to prepare for extended blackouts. The engineer compared the situation to internet outages that have cut Iran off from the world: "Everyone is impacted."

Trump's threats lack clarity about what exactly he wants Iran to do, leaving ordinary Iranians terrified but unsure how their government could even comply if it wanted to.

Democrats Demand Congress Reconvene to Stop "Madness"

Top House Democrats issued a rare joint statement calling Trump "completely unhinged" and demanding the House return to session immediately.

"His statement threatening to eradicate an entire civilization shocks the conscience and requires a decisive congressional response," wrote Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, and four other senior Democrats.

"The House must come back into session immediately and vote to end this reckless war of choice in the Middle East before Donald Trump plunges our country into World War III."

The Democrats called on House Republicans to "put patriotic duty over party loyalty" and join them in stopping what they called Trump's "madness." So far, Republican leadership has remained silent.

Iran Vows "Immediate and Proportionate" Response

Iran's U.N. envoy made clear that Tehran will not back down in the face of Trump's threats.

"Iran will not stand idle in the face of such egregious war crimes," Iravani told the Security Council during a session on the Strait of Hormuz. "It will exercise, without hesitation, its inherent right of self-defense and will take immediate and proportionate reciprocal measures."

Iravani urged the international community to condemn Trump's rhetoric before it's too late -- a plea that so far has gone largely unanswered by U.S. allies.

One Bright Spot: Kidnapped Journalist Released

In a rare piece of good news, U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson was released Tuesday after being kidnapped in Baghdad last week by an Iran-backed Iraqi militia. No details about her release or condition were immediately available.

U.N. Investigation Finds Israeli Tank Fire Killed Peacekeeper

Separately, a U.N. official said preliminary findings show an Israeli tank fired the projectile that killed an Indonesian peacekeeper on March 29. Two other Indonesian peacekeepers were killed March 30 by an improvised explosive device likely placed by Hezbollah.

The U.N. had provided Israel with coordinates of all peacekeeping positions on March 6 and March 22 to prevent exactly these kinds of incidents. The statement emphasized these are preliminary findings and full investigations continue.

As Trump's 8 p.m. deadline approaches, the world is watching to see whether the president will follow through on threats that could kill untold numbers of Iranian civilians -- and whether anyone in the U.S. government will stop him.