PiCK

Trump delays timing of strike on Iran again.."8 p.m. on the 7th!"

Source

Korea Economic Daily

Summary

U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly delayed by 24 hours the timing of an “all-out attack” on Iran, pushing it back to “8 p.m. Tuesday.”
In an interview with Fox News, Trump said negotiation results would emerge tomorrow, referring to progress in “talks” with Iran.
Trump said that if an attack is carried out, Iran’s “power plants” and “bridges,” among other infrastructure, would come crashing down—signaling maximum pressure.

Forecast Trend Report by Period

Pressuring Iran via social media

Tells Fox News he is optimistic about a "deal by tomorrow"

U.S. President Donald Trump has postponed by another day the timing of an “all-out attack” on Iran.

In a post on Truth Social that day, Trump wrote, without further explanation, “8 p.m. Tuesday, Eastern Time!”

This is interpreted as pushing back by 24 hours the deadline he had set the previous day, when he warned of a major attack on Iran—moving it from 8 p.m. on the 6th (9 a.m. on the 7th, Korea time) to 8 p.m. on the 7th (9 a.m. on the 8th, Korea time). He had first warned on the 21st of last month that he would bomb Iranian power plants, saying he would strike if the Strait of Hormuz was not opened “within 48 hours.” On the 23rd, he delayed the attack, citing ongoing negotiations with Iran, and on the 26th he pushed the timing back by 10 days to 8 p.m. on April 6. This latest delay marks the fourth adjustment.

Trump gave interviews that day to Fox News, Axios and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), among others. In a phone call with Fox News, he expressed confidence that negotiation results would emerge tomorrow (the 6th). In an interview with Axios, he said there had been concern that a message from the stranded crew of an F-15 fighter jet shot down by Iran might in fact be an Iranian ruse to lure U.S. forces into a trap.

In an interview with the WSJ published after he announced the delay on Truth Social, he said, “If no action is taken by Tuesday afternoon, that country’s power plants and bridges will all come crashing down.”

Striking power plants—an operation with heavy civilian fallout—was used in the early 1990s Gulf War but drew widespread international condemnation. Since then, when seeking to cut power supplies, the United States has tended to use methods such as limited strikes on transmission facilities rather than hitting power plants themselves. In practice, launching massive bombing raids on Iranian infrastructure to cut off electricity and water would likely spark allegations of war crimes and impose significant political costs. Even so, Trump is seen as brandishing an “extreme measure” card to maximize pressure on Iran.

Washington=Lee Sang-eun, correspondent selee@hankyung.com