Global panic erupted on Tuesday after President Donald Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s entire civilization by Tuesday night, with critics the world over expressing disbelief and demanding the president be stopped.In a disturbing message shared on social media, Trump claimed that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” referencing the deadline he imposed on Tehran to lift restrictions on a critical trade waterway by 8 p.m. EST Tuesday night. The Trump administration and Tehran have been negotiating through mediators on conditions to end the conflict, but such efforts have stalled.“Genuinely one of the most proudly evil men of all time,” wrote progressive podcast host and former Democratic congressional candidate Krystal Ball Tuesday in a social media post on X. “Military needs to revolt. In a sane country he would be immediately removed. This is madness.”In mid March, Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s power plants within 48 hours unless they lifted restrictions on U.S.-aligned vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping channel through which 20% of the world’s oil trade flows.He ultimately extended his deadline several times while escalating threats to target civilian infrastructure, including Iran’s water treatment facilities and bridges, actions that would likely constitute war crimes. And on Tuesday, Trump issued perhaps his most ominous threat yet, pledging to wipe out an entire civilization, a threat that critics noted bore a striking resemblance to the United Nations definition of genocide.“This is literally a genocide,” argued liberal influencer Brian Krassenstein, writing in a social media post to their nearly 1 million followers on X. “What the f--- is wrong with him? I warned you all about this man.”“He’s about to genocide 90 million people,” argued independent journalist Ethan Levins, writing in a social media post on X to their more than 122,000 followers.Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan described Trump’s threats as the “ravings of a homicidal maniac and sociopath,” and British journalist Owen Jones feared that Trump was “clearly threatening to use nuclear weapons against Iran.”“He needs to be removed as President to prevent a catastrophe that our species will never recover from,” Jones warned, writing in a social media post to their more than 1 million followers on X.Genuinely one of the most proudly evil men of all time. Military needs to revolt. In a sane country he would be immediately removed. This is madness. https://t.co/T3zJJ1pmcE— Krystal Ball (@krystalball) April 7, 2026