The clock is ticking down to US President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to strike a deal and open the Strait of Hormuz – or be heavily bombed and face “hell.”

Trump had set 8 p.m. ET Tuesday (Wednesday 3:30 a.m Tehran time) as the time to make a deal by. However, he has made similar ultimatums on several occasions in recent weeks, delaying the deadline each time. And his threat is highly controversial, with many pointing out that targeting civilian infrastructure amounts to a war crime.

The president set the deadline in a Truth Social post on Sunday, after issuing a profane message renewing threats to bomb key Iranian infrastructure if Tehran does not open the strait –– a choke point in the global energy trade.

Speaking again on Monday, Trump said the US has a plan under which every bridge and power plant in Iran could be destroyed by midnight Tuesday. “I mean complete demolition by 12 o’clock,” Trump said.

He has previously threatened to hit other Iranian infrastructure including oil wells and water desalination plants.

Tehran has responded publicly with defiance so far, with one military commander calling Trump’s threats “baseless” and “delusional” on Tuesday.

“If attacks on non-civilian targets are repeated, our retaliatory response will be carried out far more forcefully and on a much wider scale,” warned Ebrahim Zolfaqari, a spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, used by Iran’s armed forces.