Trump says US in 'heated negotiations' with Iran over 2-week ceasefire

Donald Trump says he is in 'heated negotiations' with Iran over a two-week ceasefire deal as a US deadline threatening strikes on civilian infrastructure looms at 8pm ET.

Trump has been briefed on a ceasefire proposal brokered by Pakistan, which is mediating between the two sides. 

A senior Iranian official said Tehran is positively considering Pakistan's request for a two-week ceasefire, according to Reuters. 

Trump has vowed to strike Iran's civilian infrastructure, including energy sites and bridges, unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.

The President refused to comment on the drafted plan, telling Fox News: 'I can't comment, because right now we're in heated negotiations.' 

Any extension would mark the fourth time Trump has shifted the goalposts since he first threatened to 'obliterate' Iran's power plants on March 21. 

Trump posted on Truth Social this morning: 'A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will.' 

Republican lawmakers warned that striking civilian infrastructure would be a grave mistake and a war crime under the Geneva Convention. 

Senator Ron Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, said: 'I think it would be a huge mistake. I mean, he loses me if he attacks civilian targets. Whatever we do has to be within the laws of warfare.' 

'We're all hoping and praying - what we're praying for is for the ayatollahs to capitulate,' Johnson told the Wall Street Journal. 

Democratic lawmakers have gone further, calling for the 25th Amendment to be invoked, which would strip Trump of his powers if he is deemed to be suffering a medical crisis. 

Representative Ilhan Omar posted on X: 'This is not ok. Invoke the 25th amendment. Impeach. Remove. This unhinged lunatic must be removed from office.'

Trump's threats to Iran 

MARCH 21: Trump threatens to 'obliterate their various power plants' if Iran does not 'fully open' the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.

FIVE-DAY EXTENSION on March 23 after Trump said the US had 'productive' conversations with Iran.

10-DAY EXTENSION on March 26 as stocks tanked on Wall Street, Trump moved the deadline to April 6 at 8pm.

MARCH 30: Trump claimed 'great progress' while threatening that if a deal was not reached to open the strait 'immediately' he would destroy all of Iran's power plants and oil wells, as well as Kharg Island - its main fuel export hub - and 'possibly all' desalination plants.

APRIL 1: Trump claimed that Iran had asked for a ceasefire but said the US would only consider it once the strait was opened. 'Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages,' he wrote on Truth Social.

APRIL 4: Trump said 'time is running out - 48 hours before all hell will reign down on them.' 

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on Trump and the Iranian regime to accept the ceasefire. 

'To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks. Pakistan, in all sincerity, requests the Iranian brothers to open Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture,' he said.

'We also urge all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region.'

Even before the deadline expired, airstrikes had already hit two bridges and a train station. American forces also struck military infrastructure on Kharg Island for the second time, a key hub for Iranian oil production. 

Israel's military warned of an increased risk of inbound attacks as Trump's deadline approached. 

Blasts were heard in the Qatari capital Doha, while the UAE said its air defenses were responding to missile threats. 

Bahrain's main port said it was suspending operations early Wednesday as the deadline is set to kick in.

Iran has warned that it will take 'immediate and proportionate' action if Trump follows through on his threats to attack the country. 

Tehran's United Nations representative, Amir-Saeid Iravani, said Trump's threats 'constitute incitement to war crimes and potentially genocide.'

Facing the threat of devastating military strikes, terrified civilians told the Daily Mail they are frantically evacuating major cities and saying goodbye to loved ones.

The defiant government has meanwhile been placing human shields at infrastructure sites, with videos showing civilians including women and children waving flags at power plants and on bridges. 

One Iranian says he and his family have already stocked up on water and supplies, fearing US strikes and the regime's response. 

'They are very stressed,' he told the Daily Mail, 'but at the same time, if this war ends now, it would literally be a living hell - because the government would retaliate.'

The call to gather at infrastructure sites came directly from an Iranian official, captured in an Associated Press video clip.

Speaking in Farsi, he urged 'youth, athletes, artists, students and professors' to assemble at power plants the following day at 2pm local time, arguing that their presence would expose any American strike as a war crime. 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: 'Only the President knows where things stand and what he will do.

'The Iranian regime has until 8pm Eastern Time to meet the moment and make a deal with the United States,' she added.