Trump accused of genocide threat after warning Iran its “civilisation will die tonight” — BBC News

[0:00] president trump has upped the ante dramatically by saying iran's whole civilization will die tonight [0:06] unless the country's leaders agree to a deal to stop fighting and to open the strait of [0:10] hormuz president trump had already threatened to destroy every bridge and power plant in iran [0:16] the vice president jd vance has added to the pressure saying that u.s forces still have tools [0:21] they so far haven't decided to use the white house has denied this was a threat to use nuclear [0:27] weapons and in the last hour the white house says president trump has been briefed on a request by [0:32] pakistan to extend the deadline by two weeks in the last few minutes iran has said it will continue [0:38] its attacks with greater intensity from washington our north america editor sarah smith has the [0:44] latest last night missiles struck merabad airport in teheran there are potentially far more [0:51] devastating attacks to come as donald trump has issued his most apocalyptic threat yet he posted [0:58] on social media [0:58] that if iran fails to meet his deadline a whole civilization will die tonight never to be brought [1:05] back again i don't want that to happen but it probably will can a deal prevent that happening [1:12] he said we will find out tonight one of the most important moments in the long and complex history [1:18] of the world emergency crews in tehran are scrabbling to deal with the aftermath of airstrikes [1:25] today the scale of destruction donald trump is threatening tonight could constitute a war crime [1:31] as it's targeting civilian infrastructure it has even been described as a threat of genocide [1:38] vice president jd vance is visiting hungary today supporting president victor orban's re-election bid [1:45] he said the president doesn't want to exact great pain from iran but the balls in iran's court if [1:50] they want to prevent an overwhelming attack they've got to know we've got tools in our toolkit [1:55] that we so far haven't decided to use the president states can decide to use them and he will decide [2:02] Iranians don't change their force of conduct. The White House then had to deny speculation [2:07] that the vice president was implying nuclear weapons might be used against Iran. Sirens over [2:15] Tel Aviv today signaled Iranian missiles can still threaten its enemies in the region, [2:20] and it may expand its strikes if it comes under even greater attack tonight. [2:25] Yesterday, President Trump laid out what he wants to hear from Tehran before his deadline tonight. [2:32] In order for Iran to successfully meet your deadline tomorrow, [2:36] do they have to make a deal, open the strait, or both? [2:39] We have to have a deal that's acceptable to me, and part of that deal is going to be we want [2:45] free traffic of oil and everything else. [2:48] In Italy, Pope Leo urged people around the world to press politicians to end the widening conflict. [2:54] A tax on civilian infrastructure is against international law, [3:00] but that it is also a sign. [3:02] Of the hatred, the division, the destruction that the human being is capable of, [3:08] and we all want to work for peace. [3:12] These images show Iranian people encouraged by the governing regime forming human chains around [3:18] the nation's bridges and power plants, the vital infrastructure that Donald Trump says he will [3:23] destroy. Attacks on targets like this that are vital to the survival of civilians are specifically [3:30] prohibited under international law. [3:35] Iran's new supreme leader, Mujtaba Khamenei, has not been seen in public since the killing [3:41] of his father, amid widespread speculation that he's seriously ill after being badly [3:46] injured in an airstrike. [3:48] So that begs the question, who is actually in charge now in Iran, and who is doing any [3:53] negotiating? [3:54] Here's our chief international correspondent, Lise Doucette. [3:58] This cleric is formally in charge, Mujtaba Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader. Selected [4:06] to succeed, Mujtaba Khamenei is in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. [4:06] He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He's in charge. He [4:38] replacing them in a system built to survive the shocks. Power in the Islamic Republic is now [4:45] dispersed across a tight circle of politicians, top clerics, and commanders. The man who's among [4:53] the most powerful, Ahmed Vaidi, the new commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary [4:58] Guard Corps, the IRGC. They've always been a main pillar of the Islamic Republic, and in the midst [5:05] of war, they're now calling the shots. But others are playing a role. Mohamed Magar Ghalibaf, he's [5:13] the parliamentary speaker and a former commander in the IRGC. He's a hardliner, but he's regarded [5:19] as a pragmatist. And the elected president, Massoud Peshishkian, he's a moderate in this system, [5:27] no real power. But he's become a point of contact in the many mediation efforts to try to end this [5:35] war. So, too, the foreign... [5:37] I continue going to work, even during the war, and I constantly hear the sound of bombing and air [6:07] defense. If the war continues, I'm not going to be able to do anything. I'm not going to be able to [6:09] fight. I'm not going to be able to do anything. And if the war continues like this, both me and my [6:11] partner would lose our jobs. [6:13] People don't want to live in such a fear and distress. We don't want our children to stay [6:17] out of school. It's true that the majority of us never wanted the Islamic Republic. But to be [6:23] honest, we also never wanted this war, too. [6:26] President Trump says he's achieved regime change. The top leader and many more are dead. But the [6:33] regime remains defiant, determined to fight for as long as it takes. [6:40] Let's go back to Sarah Smith in Washington. Sarah, less than three hours ago to President [6:48] Trump's deadline. Are you getting any indications of the White House as to the thinking there? [6:55] Well, what administration officials are saying is that they are hopeful that something may come up [7:01] in negotiations going on through intermediaries that would at least delay Donald Trump's vow to [7:07] devastate Iran tonight. At this point, nobody knows whether he is going to go ahead or not, [7:12] probably, including Donald Trump. [7:14] The president has set other deadlines during the course of this conflict, only to then back off [7:20] and extend the time frame. But given the menacing rhetoric that Donald Trump used in that social [7:26] media post earlier today, I think he would need some kind of concession from Iran that he can use [7:32] to claim that the country is back down in the face of his threats if he were to delay. And that's [7:38] where this proposal from Pakistan may come in. That country has been acting as an intermediary [7:43] between the United States and the United States. And it's a country that has been acting as an [7:43] intermediary between the United States and the United States. And it's a country that has been [7:44] acting as an intermediary between the United States and Iran. And tonight, the Pakistani prime [7:48] minister has asked Donald Trump to extend his deadline by two weeks and asked at the same time [7:53] that Iran reopen international shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz for that same two-week [7:59] period. That may just be enough to allow Donald Trump to say he is going to delay his assault on [8:06] Iran tonight. We'll find out in less than three hours' time. [8:10] OK, Sarah, thanks very much. Well, let's talk to Jeremy, who's with me now. So, [8:14] Jeremy, I think it's fair to say it's probably the most critical point of the war so far. [8:18] We've now got this offer of a potential deal via Pakistan. What are your options in front of [8:24] President Trump now? Well, there is that ladder to climb down, which the Pakistanis appear to [8:29] be presenting. That, though, will, as Sarah was saying, take a concession from the Iranians. And [8:34] they have been coming out with some very bellicose rhetoric that suggests they may [8:39] not want to do that. Would he go ahead without that? We'll see. Otherwise, [8:44] is he getting to a place where he feels he can declare victory, maybe not after such a [8:50] cataclysmic attack as the one he's threatened, but after more bombing raids? He could say, [8:57] look, they can't have nuclear weapons. Their missile industry is destroyed, so we're going [9:03] to go home. But how can he do that if the Strait of Hormuz is still blocked? It'll have no [9:07] credibility at all. What if he went ahead with that massive attack that they've been talking about? [9:14] I think the people, the communicators and experts on the subject have said those are undoubtedly [9:20] the things he's proposed are war crimes. And it looks very much like potentially if he could [9:25] destroy a civilization that has been there for its roots of 7000 years ago, even if that was [9:32] possible in the night, which it isn't, by the way, it would certainly be a genocidal attack. There's [9:37] no question about that. Where would that leave the US military, which has a code of conduct about the [9:43] in these situations when it gets those kinds of orders. I think what we're [9:47] seeing are the consequences of going into a war without quite knowing where [9:52] it's going to go and we're also seeing Donald Trump's anger and confusion when [9:58] he is confronted with the limits of his power and the fact he's coming up [10:02] against a regime which is not impressed by his threats. [10:06] We shall see. Jeremy, thanks very much.