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Trump warns a 'whole civilization will die tonight' if a deal with Iran isn't reached
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Trump warns a 'whole civilization will die tonight' if a deal with Iran isn't reached

  • By BASSEM MROUE, JON GAMBRELL, MIKE CORDER and SAMY MAGDY - Associated Press
  • Updated

U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran fails to meet his latest deadline to strike a deal that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Trump's expansive threat did not seem to account for potential harm to civilians. It prompted Democrats in Congress, some United Nations officials and scholars in military law to say such strikes would violate international law. Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic urged young people to form human chains around power plants and other potential targets. The president insisted the deadline is final and will expire at 8 p.m. in Washington.

The Latest: US and Israel strike Iran's oil, rail and bridges ahead of Trump deadline
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The Latest: US and Israel strike Iran's oil, rail and bridges ahead of Trump deadline

  • By The Associated Press
  • Updated

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that a “whole civilization will die tonight” but said Iran still has time to capitulate ahead of a deadline he set for 8 p.m. Tuesday in Washington. Trump on Monday threatened to blow up every bridge and power plant in Iran if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, an action that would be so far-reaching that some experts in military law said it could constitute a war crime. The U.S. has already struck military targets on the Iranian oil hub of Kharg Island , according to a White House official on Tuesday, while Israeli warplanes struck bridges and railways in Iran.

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Artemis II astronauts make long-distance call to the space station as they head home from the moon

  • By MARCIA DUNN - AP Aerospace Writer
  • Updated

The Artemis II astronauts are chatting it up with their friends aboard the International Space Station. Still aglow from their triumphant lunar flyby, the three Americans and one Canadian put in a call to their station colleagues Tuesday while heading home from the moon. It's the first such moonship-to-spaceship radio linkup ever. “We have been waiting for this like you can’t imagine,” the commander Reid Wiseman said. NASA's Apollo moonshots had no off-the-planet company back in the 1960s and 1970s. For Artemis II's Christina Koch and the station's Jessica Meir, it was a joyous space reunion despite being 230,000 miles apart. The two teamed up for the world's first all-female spacewalk in 2019.

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US stocks sink in shaky trading ahead of Trump's deadline for Iran

  • By STAN CHOE - AP Business Writer
  • Updated

U.S. stocks are falling as the countdown ticks toward the latest deadline set by President Donald Trump to destroy Iranian power plants and bridges. The S&P 500 fell 0.8% Tuesday ahead of Trump's 8 p.m. Eastern time deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 370 points, and the Nasdaq composite slid 1%. The moves were tentative, much like they’ve been since the start of the war with Iran, because of deep uncertainty about when the fighting may end. The price for benchmark U.S. crude oil added 0.5% after briefly topping $117. Treasury yields held relatively steady.

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On Hungary visit, Vance urges voters to support Orbán days before pivotal election

  • By JUSTIN SPIKE - Associated Press
  • Updated

U.S. Vice President JD Vance says he is in Hungary to support Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's reelection bid. Vance's visit to Budapest on Tuesday marks a clear endorsement from President Donald Trump's administration for Orbán, who is trailing in the polls ahead of Sunday's election. Orbán, a close Trump ally, is running for his fifth term against a strong center-right challenger. Despite Vance's support, he criticized the EU for interfering in Hungary's election. Orbán has been a controversial figure, known for his nationalist policies and opposition to immigration.

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Russia and China veto watered-down UN resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz

  • By EDITH M. LEDERER and FARNOUSH AMIRI - Associated Press
  • Updated

Russia and China have vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The resolution, sponsored by Bahrain, had been repeatedly watered down because of opposition from Russia and China. The vote took place just hours before an 8 p.m. Eastern time deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for Iran to open the strategic waterway or face attacks on its power plants and bridges. One-fifth of the world’s oil typically passes through the strait, and Iran’s stranglehold during the war has sent energy prices soaring.

American journalist Shelly Kittleson has been released, an Iraqi official tells the AP
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American journalist Shelly Kittleson has been released, an Iraqi official tells the AP

  • By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA - Associated Press
  • Updated

American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped in Baghdad last week, has been released. That's according to an Iraqi official with direct knowledge of the situation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity on Tuesday because he was not authorized to comment publicly. He says Kittleson was freed in the afternoon. He did not share her current whereabouts but said that prior to her release, she had been held in Baghdad. The powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement earlier in the day that it had decided to free the journalist.

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Trump has delayed several deadlines for Iran, but Tuesday's nears with his most menacing threat

  • By JESSE BEDAYN - Associated Press
  • Updated

President Donald Trump has repeatedly pushed back deadlines for Iran to cut a deal or open the Strait of Hormuz. But his latest deadline for Tuesday came with his most perilous threat yet. Trump wrote on Truth Social that “a whole civilization will die tonight."  The Republican president initially set a deadline for March 23 but postponed it several times, now suggesting Tuesday at 8 p.m. Eastern will be final. Iran's state-run news agency reported Monday that it rejected a ceasefire proposal. Trump has threatened to attack bridges, electrical plants and oil wells if a deal isn't struck.