Transatlantic crisis talks as Trump condemned for Iran deadline wipeout threat

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has spoken with her US counterpart, as Donald Trump faced condemnation after warning “a whole civilisation will die” if Iran failed to meet his deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The escalating crisis in the Middle East and apocalyptic rhetoric has seen the White House reject claims it would use nuclear weapons against Tehran.

The US president had given Tehran until 1am on Wednesday UK time to end its chokehold on the strait or face annihilation.

Mr Trump has said the US will destroy Iran’s bridges and power stations as he brushed off concerns attacks on civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime.

In the face of ongoing military strikes by the US and Israel, Iran has tightened its grip on the critical shipping route, sending global oil and gas prices skyrocketing and causing global economic uncertainty.

As the clock ticked down on Mr Trump’s ultimatum, strikes on Iran intensified with attacks on Kharg Island, the country’s main oil export terminal.

In a speech in Hungary, vice president JD Vance said the US has “tools in our toolkit that we so far haven’t decided to use”.

He added: “The president of the United States can decide to use them and he will decide to use them if the Iranians don’t change their course of conduct.”

This was seized on by critics on social media, who said it implied Mr Trump “might use nuclear weapons”.

But hitting back, the White House’s official rapid response account on X said: “Literally nothing @VP said here ‘implies’ this, you absolute buffoons.”

However, when asked about the use of nuclear weapons, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt restated the upcoming deadline and added: “Only the president knows where things stand and what he will do.”

Earlier, writing on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said: “A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again.

“I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

Among those to criticise his ominous threat was Pope Leo XIV, who branded it “truly unacceptable”.

Meanwhile, frantic diplomatic efforts are continuing to seek an end to hostilities, with Pakistan, which has acted as a mediator between the warring sides, calling on Mr Trump to extend his deadline on Iran by a further two weeks.

Separately, the US State Department said secretary of state Marco Rubio and Ms Cooper had spoken “about the Iranian regime’s ongoing attacks across the Middle East and the critical importance of restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”.

A spokesman added: “The secretary and Foreign Secretary agreed on the need for international efforts to ensure shipping can move freely and energy supplies can reach global markets.”

On Tuesday, the UK chaired a meeting of military planners from a coalition of more than 30 nations examining long-term measures to make the shipping route safe and accessible once hostilities have ended.

However, a move at the United Nations in New York to safeguard commercial vessels in the maritime pinchpoint was dealt a blow after it was vetoed by Russia and China.

Archie Young, the UK’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, said: “No country should be allowed to hold the world economy hostage. Yet that is exactly what Iran is doing by denying the right of transit passage, a key navigational right under international law.”

He added: “Today, Russia and China chose to shield their ally Iran rather than join international efforts to open the strait and avert risks to the global economy.”

He went on: “It is Iran’s actions that have closed the strait. This has already had dire consequences and the longer this stranglehold continues the worse the situation will get.

Mr Young said it was “deeply regrettable” the resolution proposed by Bahrain did not pass.