President Donald Trump on Monday issued his most sweeping threat yet against Iran, telling reporters at a White House press conference that the U.S. has the capability to destroy the entire country in a single night, and that night may be Tuesday.

"The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night," Trump said, per the Associated Press via PBS . The comments came during a press conference centered on a weekend U.S. military rescue operation of two downed American aviators in Iran, and they mark a significant escalation from a president who has spent weeks threatening Iran's power plants and bridges specifically, rather than the country as a whole.

Trump has set 8 p.m. Tuesday as his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical maritime passageway through which roughly 20% of the world's oil flows. Iran has effectively closed the strait to commercial traffic since the start of the U.S. military campaign in late February, driving Brent crude oil to $109 a barrel in Monday trading, roughly 50% higher than when the war began. Trump has already extended his deadline for the strait twice and reiterated Monday that this one is final. Asked directly if 8 p.m. Tuesday was his hard deadline, Trump replied simply: "Yeah."

Earlier Monday, Iran rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal that had been drafted by Egyptian, Pakistani, and Turkish mediators, according to CNN. Iran conveyed its 10-point counteroffer through Pakistan, demanding a comprehensive and permanent peace agreement, the lifting of Western sanctions, reparations for reconstruction, and protocols to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. "We won't merely accept a ceasefire," Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of Iran's diplomatic mission in Cairo, told the Associated Press. "We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won't be attacked again."

Trump called Iran's counteroffer "a significant step" but "not good enough." He said the five-week war could end quickly if Iran does "what they have to do," including forswearing nuclear weapons and reopening the strait. He also floated a more expansive endgame. "If I had my choice, what would I like to do? Take the oil," Trump told reporters at an earlier Easter event on the White House lawn. "There's not a thing they can do about it." He added that "the American people would like to see us come home," suggesting that impulse was the only thing holding him back.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joined Trump at the press conference and warned that Monday's strikes were the heaviest since the first day of the operation, and that Tuesday would bring even more. "Today will be the largest volume of strikes since day one," Hegseth said, per Detroit News. "Tomorrow, even more than today. And then Iran has a choice. Choose wisely, because this president does not play around."

Israel continued its own operations Monday, striking Iran's South Pars petrochemical complex and a major gas field that is Iran's largest source of domestic energy. The head of intelligence for Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was killed, along with the leader of the Quds Force's undercover unit, according to Iranian state media and Israel's defense minister. The war's death toll has now surpassed 3,400 across the region, including more than 1,900 in Iran, at least 1,400 in Lebanon, and 13 U.S. service members, per NBC News.

Trump's explicit threats to target civilian power plants and bridges have drawn sharp warnings from international observers. "Any attack on civilian infrastructure is a violation of international law and a very clear one," United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters Monday. European Council President António Costa called targeting civilian energy facilities "illegal and unacceptable." Former Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati warned that striking power plants would plunge the entire region "dark."

Trump dismissed those concerns at Monday's Easter event. "I'm not worried about it," he said. "You know what's a war crime? Having a nuclear weapon." He also invoked religion, telling reporters he believes God is on the side of the United States in the conflict. "God wants to see people taken care of," he said, per The Washington Times.

The speaker of Iran's parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, responded directly to Trump on X. "Your reckless moves are dragging the United States into a living hell for every single family, and our whole region is going to burn because you insist on following Netanyahu's commands," he wrote, per ABC News.

The war began in late February when Trump launched what the administration described as a campaign to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. It is now in its sixth week. The Tuesday deadline is 8 p.m. ET. BET News will continue to follow this story.