Bombing imminent? White House negotiators are 'pessimistic' that Iran will agree to open the Strait of Hormuz

U.S. negotiators are "pessimistic" that Iran will agree to open the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday night, April 7, a deadline set by Donald Trump. The Wall Street Journal reported this after speaking with sources familiar with the direction of the negotiations. They even noted that the president has been less optimistic in recent hours.

In recent days, Trump threatened to destroy Iran's power plants, bridges and desalination plants if the regime does not agree to a peace deal that includes opening the Strait of Hormuz. Specifically, the deadline is Tuesday at 8:00 pm, Washington, D.C. time. The White House has been negotiating with Iran for weeks, with Pakistan acting as an intermediary.

"We have a plan -- because of the power of our military -- where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again. I mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock (midnight), and it'll happen over a period of four hours - if we wanted to," the president said during a press conference held on Monday.

In this context, the WSJ reported that "negotiators are pessimistic Iran will bend to meet President Trump's demand to reopen the Strait of Hormuz before his Tuesday-night deadline."

Regarding the possibility of extending the negotiation deadline again, the president has been skeptical. "Highly unlikely. They've had plenty of ⁠time. In fact, they asked for seven days. I said, 'I'm going to give you 10. But at the end of 10, all hell's going to break out if you don't get there,'" Trump responded when asked about it.

The White House added uncertainty to the president's actions after the deadline. "Only President Trump knows what he will do, and the entire world will find out tomorrow night if bridges and electric plants are annihilated," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the aforementioned media.

As for the importance of Hormuz, it is the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. Approximately 21% of the oil consumed worldwide passes through it, as well as 23% of the liquefied natural gas (LNG).