Trump gives Iran 48 hours: ‘Make a Deal or Hell will reign down’

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

US President Donald Trump has warned that Iran has two days to “make a deal” and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical energy chokepoint or all hell will reign down on them.

Trump gave the warning in a characteristically explosive post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.

Trump said: “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT,” Trump wrote. “Time is running out –48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them. Glory be to GOD!”

The ultimatum marks the latest escalation in a brutal six-week conflict that began on 28 February with joint US‑Israeli strikes on Iranian territory.

Since then, thousands have been killed, global markets have been shaken, and the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s seaborne oil normally passes, has been effectively closed to US and allied vessels.

Trump had initially issued a 10-day deadline on 26 March, warning that failure to reopen the strait would trigger the destruction of Iranian power plants “starting with the biggest one first.”

Now, with the clock ticking down to Monday evening Washington time, the rhetoric has grown increasingly apocalyptic.

Iran has turned the narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman into its principal lever of war.

Senior Iranian security officials have boasted that Tehran can sustain the effective closure “for years,” using it to choke US military logistics and pressure the global economy.

Traffic has plummeted from a pre‑war average of more than 100 vessels per day to as few as five to eight. The strait has transformed from a free global trade route into a restricted, permission‑based corridor, with only “approved” or “non‑hostile” vessels granted passage.

In recent days, a handful of tankers operated by Oman, France and Japan have been allowed to transit, reflecting Iran’s policy of permitting passage for vessels it deems friendly, typically those with no US or Israeli links.

The disruption has sent oil prices soaring, with Brent crude climbing toward record levels and US gasoline prices averaging above $4 per gallon, a spike that is fuelling growing domestic discontent.

At the heart of the standoff lies Iran’s nuclear programme. In a primetime address on Thursday, Trump defended recent strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, saying Tehran was “right at the doorstep” of developing a nuclear weapon.

“Essentially, I did what no other president was willing to do,” he said, referring to “Operation Midnight Hammer,” a June 2025 strike on Iran’s key nuclear facilities.

According to details of a 15‑point US proposal leaked to Israeli media, Washington has demanded the dismantling of all existing Iranian nuclear capabilities, a permanent commitment never to pursue a nuclear weapon, and the handover of all enriched material to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In return, the US has offered to lift all sanctions and provide assistance for a civilian nuclear project at Bushehr.

Iran has consistently rejected such terms. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the notion of an ultimatum, insisting that “there is no military solution to the question of Iran’s nuclear program”.

Earlier this week, Iran’s UN Mission in New York issued a blistering response to Trump’s threat to “bomb Iran back to the Stone Age,” calling it “ignorance, not strength” and “evidence of intent to commit war crimes” under the Rome Statute.

The Mission noted that Iran’s civilisation spans more than 7,000 years, whereas the United States is scarcely 250 years old.