Trump Says Iran’s Call for Human Shields Around Power Plants Is ‘Totally Illegal’

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

President Donald Trump remained defiant amid global backlash against his threats against Iran as Tuesday evening’s deadline approached, attacking the regime’s call for “human shields” around its power plants and bridges as “totally illegal.”

The U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran have been controversial from the beginning, and Trump has gotten scathing criticism from the right as well as the left. The president’s social media posts over the last few days, threatening devastating consequences against civilian infrastructure like bridges and power plants if Iran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 pm ET Tuesday, have been assessed as war crimes by numerous international law experts.

Trump’s Truth Social post on Tuesday threatened that Iran’s “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if the deadline is missed, and further raised alarm around the world and sparked a wave of calls for the 25th Amendment to be invoked, removing Trump from office. Pope Leo XIV issued an unusually direct critique of Trump’s threats, calling them “truly unacceptable” and an escalation of an “unjust war.”

The Iranian regime issued calls for young people — even children — to come to key bridges and power plants and form “human shields,” multiple media outlets reported as Tuesday progressed closer to the deadline. Videos showing Iranians gathered at these sites were posted on social media and international news outlets reported that political prisoners were also being brought to the potential target sites to serve as deterrence.

NBC News reporter Gabe Gutierrez reported on a “brief phone call” with Trump in which the president “declined to provide any update on the status of ongoing negotiations with the Iranians,” but “sharply criticized Iran’s call for young people to line up as human shields around power plants.”

“Totally illegal,” said Trump. “They’re not allowed to do that.”

Guitierrez asked Trump about what “motivated” his post threatening to wipe out Iran’s “whole civilization,” and Trump replied only, “You’ll have to figure that out.”

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