Kharg Struck As Trump Threatens To Wipe Out Iranian Civilization

“Trump is openly threatening collective punishment, targeting not the Iranian military but the Iranian people,” Roth told NBC News, pointing to the Fourth Geneva Convention.“Attacking civilians is a war crime. So is making threats with the aim of terrorizing the civilian population.”

“Soldiers must refuse unlawful orders. Members of Congress must call for impeachment and removal.”

The US president set a deadline of 8 pm ET for Iran to reach a deal that fully reopens the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has threatened to order the obliteration of Iranian bridges and energy infrastructure if there's no agreement by his arbitrary deadline.

Adil Haque, a professor of law at Rutgers University, wrote Tuesday that the international community must intervene immediately to prevent Trump from launching a catastrophic and criminal assault on a country of more than 90 million people.

“Soldiers must refuse unlawful orders,” Haque added.“Members of Congress must call for impeachment and removal. Every American who loves their country must speak out. Enough is enough.”

As Trump escalated his threats to commit war crimes in Iran if its government does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian officials on Monday rejected what they called an inadequate ceasefire proposal and insisted on a guarantee that the US and Israel will not only stop their attacks, but also refrain from future aggression.

“We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won't be attacked again,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of Iran's diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press, affirming his government's rejection of a 45-day truce proposed by regional mediators led by Pakistan and including Egypt and Turkey.

Trump said Monday that he said he might order attacks on all Iranian power plants and bridges if the country's government does not open the Strait of Hormuz – through which around 20 million daily barrels of oil and a large share of the world's liquefied natural gas passed before the war – by 8:00 pm US Eastern time Tuesday.

“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said.

This, after the president on Sunday told Iran to“open the Fuckin' Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell.”

Trump – who recently threatened to bomb Iran“back to the Stone Ages” – said Sunday that he is unconcerned about committing war crimes in Iran, telling reporters that“the time the Iranian people are most unhappy... is when those bombs stop.”

Pour stressed that Iran can't trust Trump, who Iranian officials and others have accused of using nuclear negotiations as a cover to impose demands and buy time to prepare for more war.

Just hours before Trump announced his decision to bomb Iran in February, Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, the mediator of talks between the US and Iranian governments, said that a“peace deal is within our reach.”