Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, strongly condemned President Donald Trump’s apocalyptic threats against Iran made on Truth Social on 7 April 2026, warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” She described the threats, including the promise of destroying Iran’s power plants and bridges, as displaying a staggering level of cruelty and disregard for human life. Such statements, she emphasized, violate international humanitarian law and could potentially amount to threats of genocide, which is defined under the Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Callamard called on the international community, including the UN Security Council and regional bodies, to act urgently to prevent catastrophe and to reaffirm that inciting or committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide entails individual criminal responsibility under international law. She highlighted that the threats, combined with escalating U.S. and Israeli attacks on civilian infrastructure, are terrorizing millions of Iranians and their families abroad, putting tens of millions of lives at risk.
Recent military actions, according to Amnesty International, have targeted civilian infrastructure including power plants, bridges, universities, steel factories, and petrochemical facilities, resulting in civilian deaths and injuries. These attacks not only threaten lives but also cause long-term economic hardship, damage health systems, and disrupt basic access to water, food, healthcare, and electricity. Callamard stressed that intentionally targeting such civilian infrastructure constitutes war crimes, and even when infrastructure might have military significance, attacks remain unlawful if they cause disproportionate harm to civilians.
The background to these warnings includes a series of escalating threats by President Trump, who set deadlines for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz under threat of complete demolition of the country’s energy and transport infrastructure. On 5 April, Trump stated that Iran could be “taken out in one night,” and by 7 April, the Israeli military issued broad warnings to civilians about using trains and railways. During the same period, U.S. and Israeli strikes struck essential infrastructure, causing casualties and raising fears of widespread violations of international humanitarian law.
Amnesty International emphasized that attacks on power plants, water systems, and energy infrastructure disproportionately endanger civilians and are unlawful under international law. The organization called for immediate international action to halt these attacks, protect civilians, and uphold fundamental human rights, warning that failure to act could have catastrophic consequences for over 90 million people in Iran.
