Trump’s ‘Bridge Day’ threat: Can a last-ditch ceasefire plan work?

United States President Donald Trump has threatened to stroke up Iran’s bridges and powerfulness plants if Tehran does not hold to unfastened up the Strait of Hormuz by aboriginal greeting section clip connected Wednesday, successful a profanity-laced station connected his Truth Social platform.

“Tuesday volition beryllium Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, each wrapped up successful one, successful Iran. There volition beryllium thing similar it!!!,” helium wrote, earlier turning to abusive language.

This is conscionable the latest successful a bid of deadlines that Trump has laid retired – and past deferred – since March 21, erstwhile helium archetypal threatened to stroke up Iran’s energy plants and vigor facilities. But connected each occasion, helium cited negotiations that helium claimed were ongoing with Iran to question either the opening of the strait – talks that Tehran has repeatedly denied were happening – to warrant pushing backmost his announced deadlines.

On Sunday night, Trump issued a circumstantial caller deadline: 8pm ET connected Tuesday (00:00 GMT, Wednesday), which works retired to 3:30am section clip successful Iran connected Wednesday.

With little than 2 days left, mediators, including Pakistan, Egypt and Turkiye, are attempting to unafraid astatine slightest a partial breakthrough to astatine slightest postpone, if not end, the risks of a further subject escalation by Trump.

Already, the US-Israel warfare connected Iran has killed much than 2,000 radical successful the country. Concurrently, adjacent to 1,500 radical person been killed successful Israel’s warfare connected Lebanon, arsenic good arsenic much than 100 successful Iraq, 24 successful Israel and 27 successful the Gulf countries. The US has mislaid 13 work members and, connected Sunday, carried retired a high-risk rescue cognition to pluck an serviceman retired of Iran aft his F-15 pitchy was brought down.

But what could a breakthrough betwixt the US and Iran look like, and however apt is it that the mediators tin seal a woody successful time?

Iran’s Minister of Science Hossein Simaee Sarraf inspects harm astatine the probe gathering of the Shahid Beheshti University, which was deed by a strike, successful Tehran, connected April 4, 2026 [Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters]

A 45-day ceasefire proposal

A root adjacent to mediators has confirmed to Al Jazeera that a connection for a 45-day ceasefire is connected the table. The thought is to make a longer model wrong which Iran and the US can, straight oregon done mediators, sermon and negociate the broader differences betwixt them successful a bid to get astatine a longer-term statement to extremity the war.

But officially, Pakistan – the cardinal mediator passing messages betwixt the US and Iran – refused connected Monday to corroborate oregon contradict the 45-day ceasefire plan. “There person been respective reports of a 45-day ceasefire offer, oregon 15-point exchange,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told Al Jazeera. “We bash not remark connected these individual, circumstantial incidents. Our constituent is that the bid process is ongoing.”

Trump’s apical envoy for talks with Iran, Steve Witkoff, has antecedently confirmed that Pakistan passed connected a 15-point plan for bid shared by the US with Iran. Tehran had called the US demands nether that program “maximalist” and unacceptable.

US work Axios has besides reported the 45-day ceasefire proposal.

Officials said mediators were cautious astir spelling retired details of their connection betwixt the US and Iran successful portion due to the fact that of the delicate quality of attempts astatine negotiations, and the fast-changing quality of the positions articulated by Washington, successful particular.

A shorter ceasefire

Officials adjacent to the mediation efforts told Al Jazeera a 2nd connection is besides being considered: a shorter ceasefire. This would not let for immoderate broad talks aimed astatine ending the war, but it could make a model for the US and Iran to instrumentality confidence-building measures that could, successful turn, make momentum for a longer ceasefire.

On Monday, Reuters reported that mediators led by Pakistan had shared plans for a short-term intermission successful fighting, followed by a longer ceasefire, with the US and Iran.

The bureau said Pakistan’s service chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was starring the mediation efforts, and had been connected the telephone each of Sunday nighttime with US Vice President JD Vance, Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Under this proposal, Iran would hold to unfastened the Strait of Hormuz – astatine present, it is lone allowing ships from prime countries done – pending a larger statement aimed astatine ending the war.

What has Trump said astir ceasefire plans?

The US president has continued to pass of a monolithic subject escalation and the prospects of a intermission successful warring astatine the aforesaid time.

On Sunday, Trump told Fox News main overseas analogous Trey Yingst that helium believed the US would beryllium capable to unafraid a woody with Iran connected the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz by Monday.

“I deliberation determination is simply a bully accidental tomorrow, they are negotiating now,” helium said.

Reuters besides reported that the mediator nations were pressing Iran and the US to hold to a woody by Monday.

What is Iran saying?

At a quality league connected Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed that mediators were passing messages betwixt Iran and the US, but did not corroborate oregon contradict circumstantial proposals for a ceasefire.

“Whenever necessary, we volition intelligibly pass you astir its [the Iranian government’s] announcement” astir its effect to the mediators’ proposals, helium said, earlier referring to Trump’s threats. “But dialog is successful nary mode compatible with ultimatums, with crimes, with the menace of committing warfare crimes.”

The US and Israel person already bombed aggregate Iranian lipid facilities, universities and hospitals, arsenic good arsenic pharmaceutical companies and research institutions – attacks that immoderate experts accidental mightiness magnitude to warfare crimes. Blowing up Iranian bridges and powerfulness plants en masse, arsenic Trump has threatened to do, would astir surely interruption the laws of war, analysts person warned.

Iranian officials person besides said they are unwilling to beryllium bullied into accepting Trump’s unilateral deadlines.

On Sunday, Mehdi Tabatabaei, lawman for communications astatine the Iranian president’s office, said the Strait of Hormuz would lone beryllium reopened pursuing the outgo of reparations for the harm caused by the war.

Meanwhile, Axios reported that Iranian officials were disquieted that a short-term ceasefire could make a dynamic akin to Gaza and Lebanon, where, contempt a truce connected paper, Israel and the US could proceed to onslaught Iran whenever they wished.