Iran has blocked sea traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil normally travels, sending prices skyrocketing. Trump’s latest warnings come after he suggested strikes would hit bridges, desalination plants and energy targets — which could include civilian infrastructure that, if attacked deliberately, could constitute a war crime.
“We don’t want to discuss hypotheticals at this point,” said an EU diplomat, who is also party to the bloc’s policy on Trump and the Iran war.
The diplomat and the official were granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump said in his Tuesday afternoon post. “WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”
It was left to a smattering of members of the European Parliament to condemn Trump’s post.
“This genocidal language from the President of the United States is shameful,” said Barry Andrews, an Irish member of the centrist Renew Europe group. Greens MEP Erik Marquardt blasted “the dangerous madman in the White House,” calling for someone to “put a stop to him and his delusions.”