US President Donald Trump has threatened to "immediately eliminate" any Iranian vessels breaching a newly enforced naval blockade and vowed to destroy Iranian infrastructure if no agreement is reached.
The threats follow talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, that ended without an agreement, according to Al Jazeera. Trump stated that Iran wants a "peace deal" "very badly" but maintained that any framework hinges on Tehran agreeing to "no nukes."
Trump warned Monday that any Iranian attack boats approaching the American naval blockade around Iranian ports "would be destroyed," France24 reported. He vowed the US will "'eliminate' any Iranian ships defying blockade."
According to La Tercera, Trump previously stated, "Toda una civilización morirá esta noche, para no volver jamás" (An entire civilization will die tonight, never to return) regarding Iran. He also threatened the "destruction masiva de centrales eléctricas y puentes iraníes" (massive destruction of Iranian power plants and bridges) if an agreement failed.
Mikael Rask Madsen, director of iCourtains at the University of Copenhagen, told La Tercera that when Trump threatens to annihilate Iran, such actions can be denounced as acts of genocide. Madsen, visiting Chile, also addressed the crisis of multilateralism and the resurgence of "gunboat diplomacy" by powers like the United States and Russia. He noted that the international community often reacts to such declines because of a functional need for international coordination and cooperation. Madsen further discussed the impact of US sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) judges and described the Knesset's decision to allow the death penalty for Palestinians as a violation of international humanitarian law.
Former British Military Intelligence officer Philip Ingram, speaking to France24's Mark Owen, said that "Donald Trump hasn't read the psychology of Iranians well at all." Ingram added, "the Iranians are not going to give in, and therefore Donald Trump either has to continue the blockade and deal with the impact that that's going to have on global economies [...] or go back to a bombing campaign."
Clash with the Vatican
Trump also attacked Pope Leo XIV, calling the pontiff "weak" and stating he "wouldn't be in the Vatican if I wasn't in the White House," according to France24.
The President launched the attack on TruthSocial at 3 a.m. Sunday. During the rant, he shared an AI-generated image depicting himself as a Christ-like figure, bathed in light and healing an ill man with his hands. He later deleted the image on Monday.
Trump claimed he "thought it was me as a doctor" when explaining the deleted post. The deletion followed the Pope's recent condemnation of the war in Iran and his suggestion that a "delusion of omnipotence" drives US foreign policy.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called Trump's remarks "unacceptable," France24 reported. Trump refused to apologize to the Pope on Monday.
