Rahul Gandhi slams Trump’s ‘civilization will die’ warning

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised US President Donald Trump’s remarks that “a whole civilization will die” if Iran fails to meet his deadline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Gandhi asserted that nuclear weapons can never be justified under any circumstances.

New Delhi: With US President Donald Trump threatening that a whole civilisation will die on Tuesday night, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said any language or action that contemplates the end of civilisation is unacceptable in the modern world and asserted that the use of nuclear weapons can never be justified.

In a post on X, Gandhi said, “Wars are tragic, yet they remain a reality. Any language or action that contemplates the end of civilisation is unacceptable in the modern world.”

---

“The use of nuclear weapons can never be justified — under any circumstances,” the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

His remarks came after Trump threatened that a whole civilisation will die on Tuesday night if Iran fails to meet his latest deadline to strike a deal that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, while the Islamic republic urged young people to form human chains around power plants and other potential targets.

Even before the deadline, airstrikes hit two bridges and a train station, and the United States targeted military infrastructure on the Kharg Island. It was the second time American forces struck the island, a key hub for Iranian oil production.

Since the war began, Trump has repeatedly imposed deadlines linked to threats, only to extend those. But the president has insisted that this is the final one and will expire at 8 pm in Washington, without a major diplomatic breakthrough.

A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again, if a deal is not reached, Trump said in an online post on Tuesday morning. But he also seemed to keep open the possibility of an off-ramp, saying that maybe something revolutionarily-wonderful can happen.