While the Pope Called for Peace
U.S. President Donald Trump. Source: Vanity Fair.
On Easter Sunday morning, while Pope Leo XIV was delivering his first Easter mass urging world leaders to lay down their weapons, U.S. President Donald Trump was threatening to bomb Iran’s power plants and bridges via a post on Truth Social. The contrast of these two actions captures something essential about this moment in American foreign policy. An American F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran on Friday, April 4th, leaving its weapons officer stranded behind enemy lines in the mountains of Iran. Delta Force and Navy SEAL Team Six were among the hundreds of special operations troops involved with the rescue operation. In fact, three rescue aircraft were struck themselves by Iranian fire during the mission, including an A-10 Warthog whose pilot flew until reaching Kuwaiti airspace before ejecting. The missing pilot was recovered alive Saturday night after a fire fight between U.S. and Iranian forces on the ground. This was, by any measure, a serious and extremely dangerous military operation. Trump had already announced the colonel's rescue on Truth Social before sunrise. Then came the post. At 8:03 a.m., Trump wrote: “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 - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah." The post is worth sitting with. The President of the United States, on Easter morning, used profanity to threaten strikes on civilian infrastructure, closing with a phrase from Islam. It would be easy to dismiss the president's threats as performance, after all Trump has never been one to shy away from spectacle or even absurdity, but the threats he is making are very real. In fact, President Trump had already issued a similar ultimatum on March 21, 2026 only to extend the deadline now to April 6th. During interviews Sunday, Trump said he was “considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil,” while also claiming the deal could come as soon as Monday. Iran has responded to these threats by reaffirming that the strait will not be open until the country is “fully compensated” for war damages. Ultimatums only work if someone believes them. Trump has now moved this particular deadline three times. Iran has noticed. Whether Tuesday is different, whether 'Power Plant Day' is a promise or just another post, may be the most dangerous open question in the world right now.