For The Fourth Time, Trump Pushes Iran Ultimatum To 8 PM Tuesday as Destruction Order Looms
The US president has pushed his ultimatum to 8:00 PM Tuesday US time, giving Tehran until the early hours of Wednesday Erbil time to reach an agreement — or face an order to destroy Iranian infrastructure entirely.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - For the fourth time, Donald Trump has moved the goalposts — but the wall behind them has never looked closer. The US president extended his deadline for Iran once again, stretching a 48-hour window into 82 hours and warning that if no agreement is reached by 8:00 PM Tuesday US time — 3:00 AM Wednesday Erbil time — he will issue an order for the complete destruction of Iranian infrastructure.
According to information Trump disclosed to several media outlets, the previous 48-hour deadline, which had begun on Saturday, was originally set to expire at 10:05 AM Monday US Eastern time. In a fresh social media post, however, Trump shifted the deadline to 8:00 PM Tuesday — a move widely read as a signal that a narrow diplomatic window remains open, even if barely.
A pattern of extensions, a hardening of threats
This marks the fourth time Trump has altered the deadline he set for Iran, each extension accompanied by language that grows no softer. Earlier on Sunday, Trump had told a Fox News journalist that he believed there was "a good chance" of a deal by Monday, saying: "I think there is a good chance tomorrow, they are negotiating now." In the same breath, he warned: "If they don't make a deal and fast, I'm considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil."
Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Washington's most hawkish voices on Iran, had also weighed in on Sunday with a blunt message posted on X. "President Trump is intent on restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," Graham wrote. "He is deadly serious when it comes to his ultimatum to Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face a massive military response against vital infrastructure." Graham closed with a direct appeal to Tehran: "To say the window on diplomacy is closing would be an understatement. To Iran, choose wisely and choose quickly."
Energy markets on edge
The extended deadline arrives as global energy markets remain gripped by anxiety. The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee of OPEC+, meeting on Sunday, warned that targeting energy infrastructure in the ongoing conflict carries long-term consequences for global fuel supply, stressing that restoring damaged oil and petrochemical facilities would require enormous financial resources and extended time — leaving global markets facing prolonged shortages. OPEC+ also issued an urgent decision to reduce oil production by 206,000 barrels per day beginning next month.
With 82 hours now on the clock and the fourth extension in place, the question hanging over the region is whether Tehran will move — or whether Trump's next announcement will be not a deadline, but an order.