'A dangerous power trip': Patty Murray sounds the alarm over Trump's threat to Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday shared a threat-laden message to Iran regarding the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, an important global oil shipping lane, which Tehran partially shut down after the American and Israeli strikes. In an expletive-laden Easter Sunday social media post, Trump threatened to strike Iran's power plants and bridges ‌on Tuesday if the Strait wasn't reopened. Some U.S. politicians reacted with alarm to the message, urging Republicans to stop their leader from committing possible war crimes. Senator Patty Murray of Washington called the threats a "dangerous power trip," cautioning that this is not how a U.S. President should act. 

On Sunday, President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F****n’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell." The message was seemingly unprecedented as it issued threats of targeting the civilian infrastructure of Iran. As Trump continued to reassert his message in media interviews, several Democratic leaders raised questions about his mental health. "This is a deeply unwell man on a dangerous power trip, threatening possible war crimes," Sen. Murray wrote on X. "This is not how the President of the United States should be speaking about sending our servicemembers into harm's way. Republicans should join Democrats to end this war immediately," she concluded. 

Murray wasn't alone in cautioning the Republican leaders over the actions of the President. Sen. Chris Murphy also deemed Trump's threats as "war crimes" if committed, urging his colleagues to stop him. "GOP leaders need to stop him. Never mind that blowing up bridges and power plants and killing innocent Iranians won't reopen the Strait. It's also a clear war crime," he wrote in a post on X.  Murphy added that Trump had moved on from pretending to choose military targets to killing thousands of innocent civilians. 

Trump's threats came after an intense 48-hour rescue operation in Iran for two U.S. F-15 pilots who were shot down. The President said in an earlier Truth Social post that the second pilot, who is a "highly respected Colonel," was rescued but "seriously wounded". He called the rescue an "Easter Miracle" in a text message sent to ​NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "Such a rescue has never happened before in so violent an enemy territory," he added.

On Monday, Reuters reported that the U.S. and Iran have received a framework of a plan to end the conflict. However, Iran immediately rejected reopening the Strait of Hormuz after Trump issued the Tuesday evening deadline. Citing official sources with knowledge of the proposal, the publication reported that the peace plan involves a two-tier approach, which will bring about an immediate ceasefire followed by a comprehensive agreement to be finalised within 15 to 20 days. Meanwhile, the source confirmed that Iran had received a ceasefire proposal from Pakistan but refused to be pressured by Washington's deadlines.