President Donald Trump opened Easter Sunday with an expletive-laden Truth Social post threatening to bomb Iranian power plants and bridges by Tuesday unless Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz, a message that drew immediate condemnation from religious leaders, Democratic senators and international legal experts who called the threatened strikes potential war crimes.
At 8:03 a.m. on Easter morning, Trump posted: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!” He then directed an expletive-laced warning at Iranian leadership before signing off with “Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
The post came hours after U.S. forces completed the high-risk rescue of a downed American colonel from the mountains of Iran, but rather than calming tensions, it sent oil prices higher and drew swift international backlash.
The contrast with Easter messaging elsewhere was stark. During his first Easter Mass at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV issued a passionate appeal against global conflict. “Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace!” he said.
The rebuke from Catholic military leadership was equally pointed. Archbishop Timothy Broglio, head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services and one of the most senior conservative Catholic prelates in the United States, said it was “hard to cast this war as something that would be sponsored by the Lord.” When asked whether the war met the threshold of a just war, Broglio replied, “I would think under the just war theory, it is not.”
Senators from both sides responded with alarm. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X: “Happy Easter, America. As you head off to church and celebrate with friends and family, the President of the United States is ranting like an unhinged madman on social media. He’s threatening possible war crimes and alienating allies. This is who he is, but this is not who we are.”
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders called the post “the ravings of a dangerous and mentally unbalanced individual” and urged Congress to act immediately to end the war. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut described Trump’s tone as “completely, utterly unhinged,” adding that Cabinet members ought to be consulting constitutional lawyers about the 25th Amendment.
International condemnation was swift as well. Iran’s mission to the United Nations called the post “direct and public incitement to terrorize civilians and clear evidence of intent to commit war crimes,” urging the international community to act before it was too late.
Dozens of international law experts had already signed an open letter expressing concern about violations of international law by the U.S., Israel and Iran during the ongoing conflict, writing that attacks on objects essential to civilian survival “could entail war crimes.”
Iranian embassies responded with mockery. The Iranian Embassy in Thailand posted: “Judging by how POTUS swears like a teenager, it seems the US has reached the Stone Age sooner than expected,” a reference to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s recent warning that Iran would be sent back to the Stone Age.
Trump later followed the post with a second message setting a more specific deadline: “Tuesday, 8pm Eastern Time.” Iran’s government, meanwhile, rejected the president’s 15-point peace plan and said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the country is “fully compensated” for damages suffered during the war.
The president did not attend Easter church services. His schedule showed a short motorcade around Washington, D.C., with a stop at his golf course in Sterling, Virginia, before an Easter dinner with first lady Melania Trump.
