Iranian officials are urging young people to form human chains around power plants ahead of a looming deadline set by US President Donald Trump.
The president has threatened to bomb all of Iran’s power plants and bridges if the nation fails to meet his Tuesday 8 pm EDT deadline to fully restore shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
The waterway is a critical choke point, through which a fifth of the world’s oil transits in peacetime.
Iran had previously cut off shipping through the strait following attacks by Israel and the US on 28 February, which marked the beginning of the current conflict.
“The entire country can be taken out in one night,” Mr Trump declared.
In a clear sign of impending strikes, Israel’s military issued warnings in Farsi, advising Iranians to avoid train travel throughout the day.
“Your presence puts your life at risk,” the message posted on X read.
Iran called on “all young people, athletes, artists, students and university students and their professors” to form human chains around power plants ahead of the threatened strikes.
Alireza Rahimi, identified by Iranian state television as the secretary of the Supreme Council of Youth and Adolescents, issued a video call, saying: “Power plants that are our national assets and capital, regardless of any taste or political viewpoint, belong to the future of Iran and to the Iranian youth.”
Iran has previously used human chains around its nuclear sites during periods of heightened tensions with Western nations.
Later, a Revolutionary Guard general urged parents to send their children to man checkpoints, which have been repeatedly targeted in airstrikes.
Trump ‘not at all’ concerned about committing war crimes
France joined a growing international chorus calling for restraint from Mr Trump, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot saying that attacks targeting civilian and energy infrastructure “are barred by the rules of war, international law”.
He added on France Info television: “They would without doubt trigger a new phase of escalation, of reprisals, that would drag the region and the world economy into a vicious circle that would be very worrying and, most of all, very damaging to our own interests.”
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon also urged Mr Trump not to proceed, telling Radio New Zealand that the “focus needs to be on not seeing this conflict expand any further”.
He added: “Any of those actions including bombing bridges and reservoirs and civilian infrastructure would be unacceptable.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned the US that attacks on civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international law, according to his spokesperson.
Mr Trump, speaking to reporters, dismissed concerns about committing war crimes with such attacks, stating he was “not at all” concerned.
Missiles launched at Saudi Arabia
Early on Tuesday, Tehran launched seven ballistic missiles towards Saudi Arabia.
Authorities reported that debris from intercepted missiles rained down near energy facilities, with the extent of the damage currently being assessed by Defence Ministry spokesman Maj Gen Turki al-Malki.
The attacks prompted Saudi Arabia to close the King Fahd Causeway, the 25-kilometre bridge connecting Saudi Arabia to the island kingdom of Bahrain, for several hours.
This bridge serves as Bahrain’s sole road link to the Arabian Peninsula, where the US Navy’s 5th Fleet is based.
Elsewhere, activists reported a fresh wave of strikes on Tehran, for which Israel later claimed responsibility.
Iranian media confirmed that nine people were killed in the city of Shahriar and six more in Pardis in separate airstrikes.
Iran also launched missiles towards Israel, with reports of incoming projectiles in Tel Aviv and Eilat.
Death toll grows
The death toll continues to mount across the region. More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, though the government has not updated its figures for days.
Over 1,400 people have died in Lebanon, with more than 1 million displaced, and eleven Israeli soldiers have been killed there.
In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 US service members have been killed.
