News
The president’s threats to destroy the Islamic regime have escalated to include the entire population of Iran and the millennia of history and culture preceding it.
Damage from a mosque impacted in an airstrike on the Sharif University of Technology’s data center during ongoing military operations in Tehran, Iran, on April 7, 2026. (photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
President Trump’s extreme rhetoric has intensified, with threats extending from the Islamic regime to the entire Iranian population and its rich historical heritage. In a Truth Social post this morning, April 7, Trump declared, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” as he set a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 pm tonight.
Trump’s post also stated, “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” as the United States confirmed strikes on multiple military targets on Kharg Island, a crucial hub for Iran’s global oil exports. The Iranian Red Crescent reported that the US and Israel also targeted 17 civilian sites in the region today.
On April 5, Trump warned of attacks on Iran’s bridges and power plants if the Strait remained closed. This prompted a reaction from Iranian novelist Sahar Delijani, author of Children of the Jacaranda Tree, who expressed on Instagram, “If this is not genocidal intent — an open threat of annihilation — then I don’t know what is.” Delijani further noted, “Israel tells Iranians to stay away from trains, bridges, universities, entire infrastructures,” while many Iranians, amidst a prolonged internet blackout, remain unaware of these warnings and uncertain of where to seek refuge.
Over the past six weeks, US and Israeli strikes have resulted in thousands of civilian casualties and damage to approximately 50 culturally important historical buildings and archaeological sites, such as Golestan Palace in Tehran and Chehel Sotoun Palace in Esfahan city. According to Al-Jazeera, Iranian state media reported significant damage to the Rafi Niya synagogue in central Tehran due to an attack on a nearby building.
Educational institutions have also been affected. A devastating attack on Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary on February 28 resulted in at least 175 fatalities, mostly children. The Iran University of Science and Technology’s research center was destroyed in a late March airstrike, and the prestigious Sharif University of Technology was bombed most recently. Laboratories at the Pasteur Institute and a plasma research center at Shahid Beheshti University suffered damage in recent airstrikes.
The US and Israel claim these targets are associated with Iran’s nuclear and military operations, but international law restricts strikes on dual-use sites if civilian harm is anticipated. Global experts have labeled these assaults on civilian infrastructure as potential war crimes.
In an April 1 interview with Al-Jazeera, Salehi Amiri Reza, Iran’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, characterized the destruction as a “deliberate and conscious attack” on Iranian identity.
