Few Republicans condemn Trump’s Iran threat as Democrats call for his removal

April 7, 2026 / 7:35 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington— In the hours between President Trump threatening to eradicate a “whole civilization” unless Iran agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz and the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, Republicans in Congress remained mostly silent about Mr. Trump’s threat.

The president had given Iran a deadline of 8 p.m. Tuesday to reopen the strait, a critical channel for global oil trade, or face attacks on its civilian infrastructure. Twelve hours before the deadline, and about 11 hours before he announced a ceasefire, Mr. Trump posted an ominous message on Truth Social.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” he said.

Rep. Nathaniel Moran of Texas appeared to be the first Republican in Congress to express unease, saying Tuesday afternoon that he does “not support the destruction of a ‘whole civilization.’”

“That is not who we are, and it is not consistent with the principles that have long guided America,” he wrote, adding that “how we protect the lives of the innocent is just as important as how we engage the enemy.”

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said Mr. Trump’s threat “cannot be excused away as an attempt to gain leverage in negotiations with Iran.”

“Everyone involved—especially the President and Iran’s leaders—must de-escalate their unprecedented saber-rattling before it is too late,” she said in a social media post.

Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, who recently switched his party affiliation from Republican to independent, also weighed in, urging Mr. Trump against the escalation.

“The United States does not destroy civilizations. Nor do we threaten to do so as some sort of negotiating tactic,” he wrote.

The lack of condemnation from most congressional Republicans stood in stark contrast to the dozens of Democrats who called for Mr. Trump to be removed from office via the 25th Amendment or impeached over the rhetoric. By Tuesday afternoon, more than 70 Democrats in both chambers had called for his removal, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“Donald Trump’s instability is more clear and dangerous than ever,” the California Democrat said in a statement. “If the Cabinet is not willing to invoke the 25th Amendment and restore sanity, Republicans must reconvene Congress to end this war.”

Rep. John Larson, a Connecticut Democrat, announced Tuesday afternoon that he had introduced articles of impeachment against Mr. Trump, although that effort has no chance of succeeding with Republicans in the majority.

Some conservatives outside of Congress, who were once fervent Trump supporters, also condemned the president’s threats. Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones were among those calling for Mr. Trump’s removal.

Less than two hours before the 8 p.m. deadline, Mr. Trump announced the ceasefire, provided Iran agreed to the “COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz,” delaying the threatened large-scale attack.

Is that legal? Trump threatens bridges, power plants and a ‘whole civilization’

2026-04-07T21:55:40.060Z / CNN

Analysis by

Zachary B. Wolf

Updated 1 hr 4 min ago

Updated Apr 7, 2026, 6:56 PM ET

PUBLISHED Apr 7, 2026, 5:55 PM ET

President Donald Trump leaves following a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 6, 2026.

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.

There’s nothing in the military’s 1,200-page Law of War Manual about whether it’s legal to end a civilization, perhaps because nobody could have imagined an American president would make such an apocalyptic threat.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post Tuesday morning, referencing his 8 p.m. deadline for Iran to cry “Uncle” to the US and open the Strait of Hormuz. Trump later Tuesday announced he’d agreed to a two-week ceasefire on the condition that Iran agree to reopen the critical waterway.

Ever the reality TV showman, Trump timed his deadline for Iran to prime-time TV hours in the US — and announced the two-week pause with less than two hours to go before his deadline.

The underlying threat remains, however. Never one to let international law get in the way, Trump is still flirting with ordering the US military to commit war crimes by undertaking civilizational erasure.

Maybe those words are bombast or a “madman theory” negotiating tactic – nobody knows exactly what he’ll do. Maybe they are the obvious result of a president being told by the Supreme Court he has immunity from all law for his official acts as president.

Trump is largely immune from US laws. What about the military?

The same immunity may not exist for everyone under his command. Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat, told CNN’s Kasie Hunt that members of the military have an obligation not to follow illegal orders.

“If you’re asked to target civilians, if you’re asked to kill women and children, you’re asked to kill noncombatants, you’re asked to bomb a school, you’re asked to bomb a civilian power plant, that would be a war crime,” Crow said. Service members, he said, have independent obligations to follow the law of armed conflict.

There is bipartisan concern. Right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson, for instance, said officials in the administration should say no if Trump orders the killing of civilians.

Wasn’t this war launched to guard against mass destruction?

The US launched the war, along with Israel, for the stated reason of making sure Iran never obtained nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Now Trump sounds prepared to unleash mass destruction, although he has not talked publicly about using nuclear weapons.

What he has talked about is plunging Iran’s 90 million citizens into darkness by destroying their power plants and restricting their movement by destroying their bridges.

“I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” he said in the social media post, which offers Iran a binary choice of negotiating with the US or facing some kind of extinction.

As of this writing, Iran has answered by reportedly encouraging civilians to shield power plants and bridges with their bodies.

Trump, somewhat ironically given his stated disdain for international law, told NBC News that civilian shields would violate the laws of war.

“Totally illegal,” Trump told NBC Tuesday. “They’re not allowed to do that.”

International outrage and ‘war crimes’ warnings

Trump’s threats to go after power plants have already drawn international condemnation and warnings.

“I urgently call on parties to spare civilians and civilian objects in all military operations,” said International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric in a published statement. “It is their obligation under international humanitarian law.”

“Canada expects all parties in this conflict, in any conflict, to respect international laws,” Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters Tuesday.

More than 100 US legal experts signed onto a statement saying that the entire war, launched preemptively, violated the UN’s charter, and that targeting energy infrastructure “could entail war crimes.”

Another international law expert, Ryan Goodman of New York University’s School of Law, was much more pointed.

“This isn’t legal analysis. It’s idiocy,” Goodman wrote on X, sharing a Wall Street Journal report with the headline: “Top Aides Advise Trump Blasting Iran’s Infrastructure Is Fair Game.”

Goodman, who is also a top editor at the website Just Security, took issue with the idea cited in the story that power plants are legitimate targets because they could foment unrest that could topple Iran’s regime.

Power plants have been targeted before

Others argue there is plenty of room for the targeting of power plants and bridges and that the US has done so before.

Eugene Kontorovich, a professor at the Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University, pointed out on X that the US has targeted power plants before.

“The notion that international law prohibits attacking bridges or power stations in war is ludicrous, and the U.S. and its allies did so extensively in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War and even the 1999 air campaign against Yugoslavia, which left most of Serbia without electricity,” Kontorovich wrote.

That Yugoslavia example was actually a NATO operation, according to CNN’s report at the time. The air campaign included the US military, which struck a Serbian coal plant as it sought to drive the Serbian army out of Kosovo. The United Nations did not authorize the air campaign, but it did authorize a subsequent ground peacekeeping force. Trump and Israel launched their war without input from either NATO or the UN.

The Trump administration disdains international law

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who goes by his Trump-bestowed secondary title secretary of war, has said the war with Iran would be conducted without “stupid rules of engagement”.

The military’s manual on the law of war does talk about targeting bridges and power plants, and it makes clear that both can be targeted at certain times.

A view of the damaged B1 bridge a day after it was destroyed by an air strike, on April 3, 2026, in Karaj, Iran.

Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

When is it OK to target power plants and bridges?

There is a two-part test for determining whether a country’s infrastructure is a legitimate military target.

First, according to the US war manual, the target must make an effective contribution to the enemy’s military; second, destroying it must offer a distinct military advantage.

But there is another issue, as the international law experts worried about the US committing war crimes point out — that of “proportionality.”

“The proportionality principle prohibits attacks expected to cause incidental civilian harm that would be excessive in relation to the military advantage,” they wrote.

This is Trump’s message to the world

Certainly, destroying a large portion of the power plants in a country twice the size of Texas would cause civilian harm. Control of power, on the other hand, has become a tool of the US government; an embargo on Cuba has largely turned off the power on that island after the US decapitated Venezuela’s government and put new restrictions on its oil exports to Cuba earlier this year. The administration hopes the harm will force Cuba into submission.

“The kind of mass force that the president is threatening (on Iran) … every bridge, every railway station, don’t seem to qualify as legitimate military targets,” Steven Cook, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said on CNN News Central on Tuesday.

But the threats convey something else important, he said.

“What it says to the world is something that the world has already understood, which is the United States has strayed from many of the norms and principles by which we like to believe that we live,” Cook said.

For Americans who heretofore viewed the US as the country that upheld international law, their conception of American civilization is also up for review.

This article has been updated with new reporting.

ICE says it shot man who tried to ram officers with car

2026-04-07 20:43:28 UTC / Reuters

April 7 (Reuters) – ICE officers shot and wounded a man in California on Tuesday after the suspect ​tried to ram one of them with ‌his vehicle, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.

The man was taken to a hospital ​and the FBI was on the ​scene, ICE Director Todd Lyons said in a ⁠statement.

The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here.

“As officers approached the car, the wanted ​gang member weaponized his vehicle in an attempt ​to run an officer over. Following their training, our officers fired defensive shots to protect themselves, their fellow ​agents, and the public,” Lyons said.

Advertisement · Scroll to continue

The suspected gang ​member from El Salvador was in the U.S. illegally and ‌had ⁠been wanted for questioning in connection with a homicide, ICE said.

Reuters could not independently verify the ICE statement regarding the incident in Patterson, ​a farm ​town of ⁠25,000 people in the San Joaquin Valley, about 90 miles (145 km) southeast ​of San Francisco.

The Department of Homeland ​Security ⁠said in January that ICE officers experienced 66 vehicular attacks against them in the first year ⁠of President ​Donald Trump’s second term, ​up from two such incidents in the previous year.

Reporting by Daniel ​Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Rod Nickel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

伊媒：伊美谈判10日在伊斯兰堡开始

2026年4月8日 07:41 / 联合早报

伊媒：伊美谈判10日在伊斯兰堡开始

4月7日，伊朗民众聚集街头，以此纪念南部城市米纳布一所学校遭美以致命袭击。 （法新社）

伊朗迈赫尔通讯社星期三（4月8日）凌晨引述伊朗最高国家安全委员会秘书处的声明报道，与美国的谈判将于4月10日在巴基斯坦首都伊斯兰堡开始，为期两周。

美国总统特朗普星期二在最后期限即将结束前在社交媒体上宣布，他已同意“暂停对伊朗的轰炸和攻击两周”。

特朗普7日傍晚6时32分（新加坡时间8日早上6时32分）在Truth Social贴文说：“基于我与巴基斯坦总理夏巴兹和陆军参谋长穆尼尔的会谈，他们请求我暂缓今晚对伊朗实施的毁灭性打击，并且以伊朗伊斯兰共和国同意完全、立即、安全地开放霍尔木兹海峡为条件，我同意暂停对伊朗的轰炸和袭击，为期两周。这将是一项双向停火！”

特朗普还称收到伊朗提出的10点建议，他认为这是一个可行的谈判基础，停火两周将使这项协议得以最终敲定和生效。

China aiding Iran missile program amid US-Israeli strikes, reports say

Chinese companies have been sanctioned for busting US restrictions on providing military aid to the Islamic Republic

April 7, 2026 1:54pm EDT / Fox News

By Benjamin Weinthal

Communist China is reportedly providing military assistance to the embattled Iranian regime, according to a leading U.S. military think tank and other reporting.

The Institute for the Study of War stated that China is providing military assistance to the Iranian regime’s missile program, basing its research on recent reporting.

According to the Institute, “China is helping Iran reconstitute the Iranian missile program amid US-Israeli efforts to degrade it.”

A TIMELINE OF TRUMP’S ESCALATING DEADLINES ON IRAN AND THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ

According to the Institute for the Study of War, “Western media reported that China has sent multiple shipments of missile fuel precursor to Iran since the start of the war.”

The institute said that, “China’s efforts to help Iran reconstitute could undermine the combined force efforts to degrade or destroy the supporting elements of the ballistic missile program.”

Gordon Chang, an expert on China, told Fox News Digital that “China is an enemy combatant and is endangering our troops.”

A Ghadr-H missile, center, a Sejjil missile and a portrait of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are on display for the annual Defense Week, marking the 37th anniversary of the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, at Baharestan Sq. in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017.(AP)

The Daily Telegraph recently reported that, “Ships believed to be carrying Chinese chemicals for missile fuel have arrived in Iran, raising questions about Beijing’s support for the regime. Four sanctioned Iran-flagged vessels have docked at Iranian ports since the war broke out.”

The report also claimed that, “Sanctioned vessels carrying enough chemicals to produce hundreds of projectiles travel from Chinese to Iranian ports.”

Chang urged the U.S. to seize the Chinese vessels that are reportedly transporting sodium perchlorate, the chemical material required for Iran’s missile fuel systems. He added that “It is a question of America’s will to impose costs on China.”

TRUMP CALLS RESCUE OF DOWNED AIR FORCE PILOT AN ‘EASTER MIRACLE’

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) meets with the late Supreme Leader of Iran Sayyed Ali Khamenei (R) in Tehran, Iran on January 23, 2016.(Pool / Supreme Leader Press Office/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Chang concluded by noting that the “President of the U.S. has many points of leverage. If you look at the overall relationship between China and the U.S., the U.S. has more cards to play.” He cited the U.S.-China trade relationship because China is an export-driven country and depends on the vital American consumer market.

The Islamic Republic’s military forces have reportedly been feverishly working to rebuild their missile apparatus after punishing U.S. and Israeli airstrikes since the start of the war on Feb. 28.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, “Iran has been digging out underground missile bunkers and silos struck by the combined force, in some cases returning them to operation hours after strikes, according to recent U.S. intelligence assessments. Iran may be reestablishing access to their launchers hours after strikes, but these launchers are components of a larger system that has been degraded. Reported fear and lack of coordination across some Iranian forces mean that medium-range missile systems are still functioning sub-optimally.”

Missiles launched from Iran are intercepted as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, June 15, 2025.(REUTERS/Tomer Neuberg)

Chinese companies have been sanctioned as part of busting U.S. restrictions on providing military aid to Iran’s regime. In 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department said it had “designated one individual and six entities in a sanctions’ evasion network that has facilitated Iran’s procurement of electronic components for its destabilizing military programs, including those used in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Particularly, this action targets the head of U.S.-designated Iran’s Pardazan System Namad Arman (PASNA), and the entity’s Iran-, Malaysia-, Hong Kong, and PRC-based front companiesPeople’s Republic of China and suppliers that have enabled PASNA’s procurement of goods and technology.”

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Just last month, a report by the Atlantic Council noted “China has supplied Iran with drones, anti-ship cruise missiles, surface-to-air missiles, and the components thereof, to aid in its aerial and maritime defense capabilities. In other instances, China directly supplies Iran with Western or Chinese technology components that are found in Iranian drones used against US military installations and economic interests in the Gulf, as well as on Russia’s battlefield in Ukraine.”

Fox News Digital press queries to China’s Embassy in Washington, D.C., were not immediately returned.

Benjamin Weinthal reports on Israel, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Europe. You can follow Benjamin on Twitter @BenWeinthal, and email him at benjamin.weinthal@fox.com

Trump’s threat to end Iranian ‘civilization’ sparks uproar on Capitol Hill

April 7, 2026 3:03pm EDT / Fox News

Reps. Ilhan Omar, Delia Ramirez and Rashida Tlaib call for impeachment or invoking the 25th Amendment

By Alex Miller , Adam Pack Fox News

KT McFarland, former deputy national security advisor, provides expert analysis on President Trump’s ultimatum to Iran, following his recent “True Social” post. She highlights the strategic importance of recent strikes on Kharg Island, home to critical oil export facilities and military sites, asserting these actions are designed to force a regime change or a new diplomatic agreement within the 12-hour deadline.

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President Donald Trump’s escalating threats against Iran sparked fierce bipartisan backlash on Capitol Hill, with some lawmakers calling for his removal from office.

Trump warned Tuesday that a “whole civilization will die tonight” unless Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway responsible for one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

“I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “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?”

Some Democratic lawmakers in both chambers immediately called for the president’s impeachment, though it is likely to be a futile effort in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

WHY TRUMP’S WAR SPEECH FAILED: DECLARING VICTORY BUT STILL BOMBING IRAN BACK TO THE ‘STONE AGES’

Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., called on President Donald Trump to be impeached and removed from office after he issued a dire warning to Iran on Tuesday.(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)

“Trump’s unhinged threats of violence and genocide are inexcusable,” Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., wrote on social media. “My Republican colleagues can’t keep turning a blind eye. He must be stopped and impeached.”

“Sickeningly evil. Donald Trump must be impeached,” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said in response to Trump’s message.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., also called on the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment, characterizing Trump as a “maniac” who must be removed from office.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the vice president and a majority of the cabinet can use the mechanism to remove a president, though the cohort must submit a written letter to Congress stating their rationale. Lawmakers in both chambers would then need to approve the president’s removal with a two-thirds majority — a much higher bar than impeachment and conviction.

Republicans similarly demanded that former President Joe Biden be removed toward the end of his administration.

The White House slammed Democrats’ renewed impeachment push in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“This is pathetic. Democrats have been talking about impeaching President Trump since before he was even sworn into office,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. “The Democrats in Congress are deranged, weak, and ineffective, which is why their approval ratings are at historic lows.”

Other Democratic lawmakers stopped short of calling for Trump’s ouster but have advocated for an immediate end to the war and canceling recess to hold a vote to check the president’s war powers in Iran.

President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., rarely agree on anything. But Trump’s decision to unveil government documents on UFOs is a passion project of Schumer’s years in the making.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

TRUMP FIGHTING FIERCE BATTLES, AT HOME AND ABROAD: WHY HE CASUALLY DISMISSES THE CONSEQUENCES

“Each Republican who refuses to join us in voting against this wanton war of choice owns every consequence of whatever the hell this is,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday.

Democrats in both chambers are expected to force votes requiring Trump to seek congressional authorization before launching military force against Iran in the coming weeks. However, the House and Senate are not expected to resume session until the week of April 13.

Trump’s latest fiery statement comes after his Easter edict, in which the president reaffirmed his Tuesday deadline in an expletive-filled post and threatened that Iran will be “living in Hell.”

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a close ally of Trump’s in the Senate, said he hoped the president was bluffing.

“I am hoping and praying that President Trump is — this really is bluster,” Johnson told John Solomon Reports. “I do not want to see us start blowing up civilian infrastructure. I do not want to see that we are not at war with the Iranian people. We are trying to liberate them.”

Republicans have so far given little pushback to Trump’s war in Iran, with many declining to use the term. And in the Senate, they have blocked several attempts from Democrats to rein in Trump’s war authorities in the region and call back America’s military forces from the conflict.

Some Republicans aren’t completely sold on providing more funding for the conflict, including Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, until there has been a formal declaration of war approved by Congress.

That moment has not yet come, however, but it may be fast approaching, given that the conflict has now stretched over 39 days. At 60 days, Congress would be able to weigh in.

U.S. Senator-elect John Curtis (R-UT) arrives for the Senate Republican leadership elections at the U.S. Capitol on November 13, 2024 in Washington, DC.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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Not all Republicans shared the same sentiment as Johnson. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, when asked about the post, said “He’s not wrong.”

“Let’s put it like that,” Ernst said. “I know the president is really frustrated, and we do want to see the strait opened. It’s not just good for the United States, but it’s good for Europe and so many other countries.”

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

Iran’s UN ambassador takes swipe at Trump in final hours before Strait of Hormuz deadline

April 7, 2026 2:28pm EDT / Fox News

Trump gave Iran until 8 pm ET Tuesday to reopen the key waterway or face strikes on power plants and bridges

By Greg Norman-Diamond Fox News

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations took a swipe at President Donald Trump on Tuesday hours before Trump’s deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, calling one of the president’s posts on Truth Social “deeply irresponsible” and “profoundly alarming.”

Trump has given the Iranian regime until 8 p.m. ET to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — a key waterway — or face strikes against its power plants and bridges.

In a post Tuesday morning, Trump said, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” and, “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

“Today the President of the United States again resorted to language that is not only deeply irresponsible but profoundly alarming, declaring that,quote, ‘the whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back,’ unquote,” Amir-Saeid Iravani said at U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday afternoon.

RUSSIA, CHINA VETO UN RESOLUTION AIMED AT REOPENING STRAIT OF HORMUZ, HOURS BEFORE TRUMP DEADLINE

Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s U.N. ambassador, left, and President Donald Trump.(Timothy Clary/AFP via Getty Images; Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

“It is regrettable and alarming that while in full view of the international community, the President of the United States shamelessly and brazenly issues threats to destroy all civilian infrastructure in Iran, including bridges, power plants and energy facilities, by setting a deadline and openly reveals this intent to commit vile crimes and crimes against humanity,” Iravani added.

The White House, when asked by Fox News Digital for reaction, said, “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 in order to cause as much death as possible throughout this conflict.”

CHINA AIDING IRAN MISSILE PROGRAM AMID US-ISRAELI STRIKES, REPORTS SAY

A satellite image shows the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, vital for global energy supply.(Amanda Macias/Fox News Digital)

“As President Trump said today, Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, and the Iranian people welcome the sound of bombs because it means their oppressors are losing. The President will always stand with innocent civilians while annihilating the terrorists responsible for threatening our country and the entire world with a nuclear weapon,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly added.”Greater destruction can be avoided if the regime understands the seriousness of this moment and makes a deal with the United States.”

Trump also said Tuesday, “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?”

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“We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World,” the president added. “47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

Democrat whose parents fled Iran moves to oust Hegseth

Pentagon calls the effort ‘just another Democrat trying to make headlines’ during ongoing Mideast operations

April 7, 2026 12:16pm EDT / Fox News

By Charles Creitz

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A Democratic congresswoman whose parents fled the regime of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini decades ago announced Monday she would file articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for alleged war crimes amid the current conflict.

Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona previously told the New York Times she initially “felt a rush of hope, but also unease” when she learned Americans and Israelis had taken out Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in February.

But she has since been harshly critical of how the Trump administration has overseen the conflict, including President Donald Trump’s Easter message to what’s left of Iranian leadership to “open the f—ing Strait” of Hormuz by Tuesday or risk strikes on critical infrastructure.

“Donald Trump’s deranged statements — including one on Easter Sunday — are further entrenching our country and our world in another devastating, never-ending war,” Ansari said in a statement announcing her plans to impeach Hegseth.

77-YEAR-OLD HOUSE DEM FACING YOUNGER PRIMARY CHALLENGERS SEEKS TO IMPEACH DONALD TRUMP

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, left; Rep. Yassamin Ansari, right.(Alex Wong/Getty Images; Matt McClain/Getty Images)

Ansari claimed Trump is threatening war crimes in violation of the Geneva Convention and has already committed “illegal actions and atrocities already committed at his direction — including violence that has destroyed schools, hospitals, and critical civilian infrastructure.”

“As the daughter of Iranian immigrants who fled this regime, and as an American Congresswoman who swore an oath to the United States Constitution, I know that this cannot go on,” she said.

Ansari’s father was a medical student studying in the United States when the Iranian Revolution broke out and couldn’t return to Iran, while her mother fled and was sent to live with another family in Delaware at age 17 after the Khomeini regime continually restricted women’s rights, according to the UK Guardian.

Ansari urged invocation of the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office and said she would file articles of impeachment and seek to formally impeach Hegseth “next week.”

DEMOCRATS THREATEN TO GRIND SENATE TO A HALT TO FORCE PUBLIC IRAN HEARINGS

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6392648988112

She alleged the Pentagon chief “repeatedly violat[ed] his oath of office and his duty to the Constitution. Only Congress has the power to declare war, not a rogue president or his lackeys.”

“Hegseth’s reckless endangerment of U.S. servicemembers and repeated war crimes, including bombing a girls’ school in Minab, Iran, and willfully targeting civilian infrastructure, are grounds for impeachment and removal from office.”

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6392648790112

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6391752618112

Hegseth and Trump recently engineered the rescue of an airman shot down by Iranian forces over the weekend, with the president telling the press at the White House that a large military operation was required.

Gen. Dan “Raizin” Caine declined to state how many troops were involved, likely for security reasons.

When reached for comment, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson slammed the plan to impeach her boss, telling Fox News Digital that Ansari is “just another Democrat trying to make headlines” as an ongoing Mideast military operation and two “daring and successful” rescue operations were conducted.

“Secretary Hegseth will continue to protect the homeland and unleash epic fury on Iran’s radical regime,” Wilson said.

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“This is just another charade in an attempt to distract the American people from the major successes we have had here at the Department of War.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

Trump’s apocalyptic Iran warning raises stakes for sweeping US strike threat

2026-04-07T14:16:20-04:00 / Fox News

Back-channel talks continue through Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey as mediators race to broker a ceasefire before strikes expand

By Morgan Phillips Fox News

Published April 7, 2026 2:16pm EDT

Trump warns Iran ‘a whole civilization will die tonight’ as deal deadline looms

Former Deputy National Security Advisor KT McFarland weighs in on President Donald Trump’s latest ultimatum to Iran, the strategic importance of Kharg Island and what comes next on ‘Fox & Friends.’

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President Donald Trump warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight” as a deadline looms for Iran to agree to U.S. demands, escalating his rhetoric even as last-minute negotiations continue through intermediaries to avert sweeping military strikes.

Trump has set a Tuesday night deadline for Iran to accept terms that include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil artery, as U.S. officials — including Vice President JD Vance — continue back-channel talks through intermediaries such as Pakistan.

But significant gaps remain, and the president’s latest comments raise the risk the U.S. may move forward with strikes targeting Iranian infrastructure, including power and transportation systems and beyond.

TRUMP REVEALS IRAN MADE ‘SIGNIFICANT PROPOSAL’ AFTER ULTIMATUM, BUT ‘NOT GOOD ENOUGH’

Trump’s latest remarks mark a sharp escalation from earlier warnings focused on infrastructure. He also suggested Iran had undergone “complete and total regime change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail.”

Mojtaba Khamenei was named Iran’s supreme leader after U.S. strikes killed his father, Ali Khamenei, though his current status and control remain unclear amid conflicting reports.

And Iran has threatened to take action if Trump follows through on his threats.

“Iran will not stand idle in the face of such egregious war crimes,” said Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations. “It will exercise without hesitation its inherent right of self-defense, and will take immediate and proportionate reciprocal measures.”

President Donald Trump warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight” as a deadline looms for Iran to agree to U.S. demands.(Alex Brandon/AP)

Diplomatic efforts to avert a wider conflict are ongoing but increasingly strained, with mediators including Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey working to broker a ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz before broader talks can begin.

“We are absolutely in touch with” Iran, a senior U.S. official told Fox News. “Absolutely. (The talks) have been positive. If we get lucky, we will have something by the end of the day.”

Iran repeatedly has rejected a temporary truce in favor of a permanent end to the war, while U.S. officials have dismissed Tehran’s proposals as insufficient, leaving key differences unresolved as the deadline approaches.

Trump underscored the threat in a profanity-laced Truth Social post Sunday, declaring that “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day in Iran and warning that the country’s infrastructure would be destroyed if it did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He told Iran to “open the F—in’ Strait… or you’ll be living in Hell.”

As the deadline nears, the conflict already is intensifying on the ground. Airstrikes hit parts of Iran’s capital city of Tehran Tuesday, while Iranian officials urged civilians to form human chains around power plants in an effort to deter potential U.S. attacks on critical infrastructure,Iranian state media reported.

Overnight, the U.S. struck dozens of military sites on Kharg Island — including bunkers, radar stations and ammunition storage facilities — a senior U.S. official told Fox News. The island is Iran’s primary oil export hub, making it one of the regime’s most critical economic assets.

By targeting military sites while avoiding energy infrastructure, the strikes suggest the U.S. is applying pressure while holding Iran’s oil lifeline at risk as a potential next step if the deadline passes without a deal.

Israel also has signaled a potential expansion of the target set to include Iran’s rail network, warning civilians to avoid trains ahead of possible strikes. Rail lines play a critical role in moving military forces and equipment, particularly in and out of Tehran, and disrupting them could significantly limit Iran’s ability to reposition assets and sustain operations.

While Trump has centered his deadline on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the negotiations have expanded into a broader dispute over ending the war, including Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, sanctions relief and security guarantees — issues that remain unresolved as both sides clash over what concessions must come first.

A view of the damaged B1 bridge, a day after it was destroyed by an airstrike, April 3, 2026, west of Tehran in Karaj, Iran.(Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Trump’s “civilization” remarks have raised new questions about whether the potential U.S. target set could extend beyond bridges and power plants to include additional infrastructure or systems tied to the Iranian regime’s ability to maintain power.

IRAN’S TALLEST BRIDGE COLLAPSES AFTER REPORTED US AIRSTRIKES, IRAN THREATENS AMERICAN ALLIES IN RETALIATION

Trump has warned that “every bridge in Iran will be decimated” and that power plants could be left “burning, exploding and never to be used again” if Tehran fails to meet his demands, underscoring the scale of potential infrastructure strikes.

Trump also has repeatedly extended similar deadlines in recent weeks, delaying threatened strikes as negotiations continued before issuing new ultimatums. The pattern has raised questions about whether the latest deadline will hold — or serve as another pressure tactic in the final hours of talks.

Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil passes in peacetime — already has sent shock waves through global markets, raising pressure on the administration to reach a resolution while increasing the stakes of any potential military escalation.

Rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble after a strike in southern Tehran, Iran, March 13, 2026.(Sajjad Safari/AP)

Military options now on the table

Trump’s rhetoric has fueled questions about how far a potential U.S. strike campaign could extend beyond the infrastructure targets he has publicly identified.

Military analysts say options range from continued infrastructure strikes aimed at crippling Iran’s ability to function to a broader campaign targeting the regime’s core power centers.

The White House rapid response team shot down a post on X which quoted Vance and suggested it implied “Trump might use nuclear weapons.”

“Literally nothing @VP said here ‘implies’ this, you absolute buffoons.”

“The Iranian regime has until 8PM Eastern Time to meet the moment and make a deal with the United States. Only the President knows where things stand and what he will do,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

A U.S. operation could focus on disabling Iran’s electrical grid, transportation networks and energy facilities — a strategy designed to create nationwide disruption and pressure leadership. Such strikes could trigger cascading effects across communications, water systems and industrial production and would impact the civilian population.

Other options could involve further targeting of leadership, facilities tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including command-and-control nodes, weapons production sites, and economic assets that fund the regime’s operations.

Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum, said the president’s language suggests a focus on dismantling the regime’s underlying power structures rather than targeting Iran as a nation.

“I really think that what he’s talking about are the fundamental roots and the anchors of the Islamic Republic, not of the country of Iran,” Roman said.

“Everything that the United States would target in a hypothetical attack on power plants, bridges, other key points of infrastructure would really have to focus on those that are connected to the ability of the generals who are currently in charge of this regime and their ability to maintain power,” he added.

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Roman said Trump’s reference to “civilization” likely reflects the 47-year rule of the Islamic Republic rather than Iranian society as a whole.

“I don’t think he’s speaking about Persian civilization. I think he’s speaking about the 47 years that the Islamic Republic has ruled as a polity.”

Iranian officials have called on civilians to help protect key infrastructure. Earlier, Iranian official Alireza Rahimi issued a video message calling on “all young people, athletes, artists, students and university students and their professors” to form human chains around power plants.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tuesday that Iranians are willing to give their lives in defense of Iran.

“More than 14 million brave Iranians have so far declared their readiness to sacrifice their lives to defend Iran. I have also sacrificed my life for Iran, I am, and I will continue to do so,” he wrote on X.

Fox News’ Bill Hemmer, Jennifer Griffin and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

Trump Iran threat sparks calls for his ouster, but one Dem says effort ‘not realistic’

Removing Trump would require VP JD Vance and a majority of his Cabinet to agree, a bar never met in U.S. history

April 7, 2026 3:27pm EDT / Fox News

By Alex Miller

Democratic strategist Kevin Walling joins Fox Across America With Jimmy Failla to give his take on President Trump doubling down on his 8 p.m. ET deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes against its power plants and bridges on Tuesday.

Dozens of congressional Democrats are demanding that Republicans remove President Donald Trump for his latest threat against Iran, but one lawmaker says the idea isn’t “realistic.”

Several congressional Democrats want to invoke the 25th Amendment, a decades-old addition to the Constitution that empowers a president’s Cabinet to remove him from office if he is unable to do the job.

Some Democrats are arguing that Trump’s latest threat against Iran on Truth Social — where he declared that a “whole civilization will die tonight” unless his demands to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are met — is proof that he has lost the ability to carry out his role as commander in chief.

But Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., doesn’t believe now is the moment to pull the trigger on the 25th Amendment.

GRAHAM EYES ‘DOWN PAYMENT’ ON TRUMP-BACKED SAVE ACT WITHOUT DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT

Dozens of congressional Democrats are demanding that Republicans remove President Donald Trump for his latest threat against Iran.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“I’m getting a lot of traffic about the 25th Amendment after Trump’s mad rants,” Whitehouse said on X. “The president is facing serious mental decline; I’m with you on that.”

“But unfortunately, invoking the 25th is not realistic right now, given his oddball Cabinet of sycophants and eccentrics, and Republican ‘spines of foam,’” he continued. “We’re going to have to buckle down and win this the old-fashioned way.”

BIPARTISAN SENATORS PROBE KREMLIN-LINKED DELEGATION’S MEETINGS WITH US OFFICIALS

But Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., doesn’t believe now is the moment to pull the trigger on the 25th Amendment.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Doing so would require Vice President JD Vance and a majority of Trump’s Cabinet to agree to remove him. They would then send a declaration to Congress, which Trump would likely dispute, requiring a two-thirds vote in both chambers to officially remove him from office.

It’s a much higher bar than impeachment and conviction — and a move that has never been used to remove a sitting president.

While the measure has been used a handful of times since its ratification in the 1960s — either for brief transfers of power during medical procedures requiring anesthesia or to fill vacancies in the vice presidency — it has never been used to involuntarily remove a president.

HAWLEY, WARREN TEAM UP TO BACK TRUMP, CRACK DOWN ON DEFENSE CONTRACTOR PAYOUTS

Vice President JD Vance laughs at the sound of President Donald Trump calling in as he was delivering remarks at a Day of Friendship event with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at MTK Sportpark in Budapest, Hungary, on April 7, 2026.(Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Congressional Republicans similarly called for invoking the 25th Amendment against former President Joe Biden toward the end of his presidency, particularly after his debate performance against Trump in the summer of 2024.

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Still, Democrats are seeking recourse over Trump’s Easter comments and his latest post Tuesday.

“If I were in Trump’s Cabinet, I would spend Easter calling constitutional lawyers about the 25th Amendment,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said on X. “This is completely, utterly unhinged. He’s already killed thousands. He’s going to kill thousands more.”

Others are accusing Trump of being on the cusp of committing war crimes by targeting civilian infrastructure.

When asked if she believed that the administration would be carrying out a war crime by targeting power supply and bridges, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said, “No.”

“It’s an ongoing operation, and if he needs leverage, he’s using that leverage,” Ernst said.

Many Republicans have remained silent on Trump’s post.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment and has not yet received a reply.

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.