Trump hurls more threats at Iran even as traffic in Strait of Hormuz increases
President Trump has amplified the tone and volume of his threats around the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, even as indications from the region show more ships are passing through the crucial waterway at the behest of Iran’s regime.
After weeks of ultimatums, the bellicose rhetoric from the White House reached a new level on Sunday. In a Truth Social post, the president used an expletive, appeared to mock Islam, and called the Iranian regime’s leaders “crazy bastards” while promising anew to bomb bridges and power plants.
Trump doubled down on that threat Monday, saying that “the entire country could be taken out in one night and that night might be tomorrow night.”
At another point, Trump added that he doesn’t expect his latest deadline of Tuesday to shift and that he is not worried his proposed actions targeting civilian architecture would constitute a war crime.
“I hope I don’t have to do it,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, developments on the ground gave observers and markets hope on Monday that some economic pressure could be easing. Iran announced that Iraq has a “special exemption” to ship through the strait, and more oil appeared set to flow to Asia.
The service said that 10 vessels crossed on Saturday and 11 on Sunday — far below the 100-plus ships that passed on an average day before the war, but still a notable improvement from March totals.
A satellite view of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy supply. (Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2025) ·Gallo Images via Getty Images
This split-screen of sorts between apocalyptic rhetoric and some optimism also came as the president offered another day for ceasefire talks to play out amid signals of diplomatic engagement.
A last-ditch discussion of a potential ceasefire is underway that Trump said Monday he had reviewed, calling it “a significant step” but not yet enough to stop the fighting.
The president added he thinks the Iranians are negotiating in good faith, but if they don’t make a deal “they are going to have no bridges, they are going to have no power plants” and that the only way to seal a deal is opening the strait to “free traffic of oil and everything else.”
President Trump speaks about the conflict in Iran on April 6. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images) ·BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI via Getty Images
This past weekend, the president made a series of additional threats about the Strait of Hormuz, a 21-mile-wide waterway through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.
First, on Saturday, Trump set a 48-hour deadline to Iran to open the strait or “Hell will reign down on them.”
It raised new fears of escalation, but Sunday’s declaration from the president of a coming “Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one” again shifted the timeline and added a day to his latest ultimatum.
The deadline now stands at Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. ET, potentially allowing about 29 additional hours for diplomacy beyond what Trump signaled on Saturday.
And it is yet another hairpin turn in Trump’s rhetoric.
In an address to the nation last week, Trump declared, “we don’t need” the Strait of Hormuz and suggested it would be the responsibility of other nations going forward.
He first began issuing ultimatums on March 9, even as Iran has evinced little sign it will give up this key leverage point and has exercised veto power over ship traffic for over a month now.
As Marine Traffic noted in Monday’s analysis, this past week’s uptick in traffic was largely seen among “sanctioned vessel activity,” showing Iran’s continued ability to decide who passes — and notably pushing aside US allies by ignoring Western sanctions.
But improved traffic could nonetheless be a balm to wary energy markets as average US gas prices topped $4.11 per gallon.
On Monday, Trump seemed to acknowledge his rhetorical changes when he was asked about his previous dismissals of the importance of the strait. That has changed, he said, and the waterway is now “a very big priority.”
This story has been updated with additional developments.
Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
