‘A whole civilisation will die tonight’, says Trump

Iran calls off talks with US, has informed Pakistan: NYT

WASHINGTON: Iran has called off negotiations with the United States and informed Pakistan that it would not participate in ceasefire efforts, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

In its live blog, the outlet said that as per three senior Iranian officials, “Iran has stopped negotiation efforts with the United States, informing Pakistan that it would no longer engage in cease-fire talks.”

Earlier, US President Donald Trump threatened to eliminate the “whole civilisation” of Iran tonight amid a breakdown in talks to resolve the crisis in the Middle East.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have complete and total regime change, where different, smarter and less radicalised minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, who knows? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the world. 47 years of extortion, corruption and death will finally end. God bless the great people of Iran!”

Meanwhile, explosions were heard on Iran’s Kharg Island in the Gulf following US-Israeli airstrikes, Iranian media reported. Mehr News Agency said US and Israeli warplanes carried out several airstrikes on the island, causing multiple explosions.

Iran earlier attacked a petrochemical complex in Saudi Arabia’s Jubail industrial city, located in the Eastern province, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said.

The Saudi government communications office, state oil giant Aramco and its petrochemicals subsidiary SABIC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Monitoring Desk