Trump’s April 6 Deadline Expires Today — And He Is Already Threatening Tuesday

WASHINGTON, APRIL 6, 2026 —

President Trump’s April 6 deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz expires tonight at 8:00 PM Eastern — and before it has even passed, Trump has already issued a new threat targeting Tuesday as the day he will bomb Iran’s power plants and bridges if the strait remains closed.

In a profanity-laced post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump threatened: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F**** Strait, you crazy b*******, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”**

Iran’s response was immediate and dismissive. A senior Iranian official called Trump’s threats “incitement to war crimes” and said Tehran dismissed the ultimatum as an act of “sheer desperation and anger.” Iran’s military commander warned that “the gates of hell will open” for the U.S. if it expands hostilities — an echo of Trump’s own language turned back on him.

The April 6 deadline is the third such deadline Trump has set for Iran on the Strait of Hormuz — and he has extended or ignored the first two. Whether Monday night marks a genuine escalation threshold or another extension is the defining question of the war’s seventh week.

How We Got Here — The Deadline Timeline

The pattern is consistent: Trump threatens, extends, threatens again. But the context this week is different in two ways. First, the F-15 shootdown on Friday — and the dramatic CIA-assisted rescue of the missing weapons systems officer on Easter Sunday — has intensified domestic political pressure on Trump to demonstrate strength. Second, the war’s economic toll is now undeniable: gas prices are up 37% since February 28, oil is trading above $105 per barrel, and Trump’s approval rating on the economy has hit a career low of 31% in CNN polling.

What Iran Has and Has Not Done

Iran has not reopened the Strait of Hormuz. It has maintained its effective blockade of the world’s most critical oil shipping lane, which normally carries one-fifth of all globally traded oil — approximately 20 million barrels per day.

Iran has offered to allow ships carrying “essential goods” to pass — but has not defined what qualifies as essential and has maintained its blockade of vessels from nations it considers hostile. On Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled for the first time that Iran was “willing to join talks” — a shift in language, though not an explicit commitment to negotiations.

Pakistan, Turkey, and Egypt are working to bring both sides to the table in Islamabad. Two regional officials told the Associated Press that mediators are trying to bridge the gap between the U.S. 15-point plan and Iran’s five-point counteroffer. But no direct talks have been confirmed.

Meanwhile Iran has continued striking. Over the weekend Iran hit a residential building in Haifa, Israel — killing at least two people and wounding four. Iranian drones struck U.S. radar installations and a U.S.-linked aluminum plant in the UAE. The UAE alone has now intercepted nearly 500 ballistic missiles, 23 cruise missiles, and more than 2,100 drones since the war began.

Where the War Stands — Week 6 Scorecard

What Happens Next

If Trump follows through on Tuesday’s threat and strikes Iranian power plants and bridges, it would mark a significant expansion of the war’s target set — from military and nuclear infrastructure to civilian energy and transportation infrastructure. International human rights experts and UN officials have already warned that such strikes may constitute war crimes under international law.

If Trump extends the deadline again, his credibility on ultimatums weakens further — and Iran has every incentive to keep talking without conceding anything, buying time while the economic pressure builds on both sides.

The only clean exit from the pattern is a deal. And on the morning the latest deadline expires, no deal exists.