Trump has expanded his threat against Iran to include all power plants and bridges as his ultimatum to make a deal ticked closer.Tehran:

With US President Donald Trump's deadline for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz approaching fast, Tehran has reportedly called on young Iranians to form symbolic "human chains" around Iran's key power plants. Iran's Ministry of Sports and Youth has called on the country's youth, including athletes, artists and students, to gather around the sites from 2:00 pm (local) on Tuesday. 

That is around 13 hours before Trump's deadline for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen, which ends at 3:30 am (local time) on Wednesday. 

"This action (the human chain) has been formed at the suggestion of the youth themselves," Iran's Deputy of Youth Affairs, Alireza Rahimi, said in a video message.

"A number of university youth, young artists, and youth organisations proposed that we form a human ring or human chain around the country's power plants," he added.

According to the Iranian minister, the "symbolic action is called the 'Human Chain of Iran's Youth for a Bright Future."

"We hope that with the participation of young people across the country, this human chain will be formed around the power plants, and it will be a sign of the youth's commitment to protecting the country's infrastructure and building a bright future," he added. 

Trump's Threat

Trump has expanded his threat against Iran to include all power plants and bridges as his ultimatum to make a deal ticked closer, with Tehran rejecting a 45-day ceasefire proposal and saying it wants a permanent end to the war.

"The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night," Trump said and suggested that his deadline was final, saying he'd already given Iran enough extensions.

The US leader has issued ultimatums to Iran before, only to find ways to back off. But he was more explicit this time on plans to follow through. "Every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night," he said, and all power plants will be "burning, exploding and never to be used again."

Asked if he was concerned about accusations of war crimes, Trump responded, "No, not at all." He suggested that Iranians want the US to carry out its threats because it could lead to the end of their current leadership.

Iranian citizens are "willing to suffer", he said, "in order to have freedom." But there has been no sign of an uprising in Iran as residents shelter from bombardment.

The US has told Iran to open the crucial Strait of Hormuz to all shipping traffic or see power plants and bridges wiped out, sparking warnings about possible war crimes. America's ally Israel has also piled on pressure on Tehran by attacking a major petrochemical plant and killing the intelligence chief of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

US-Iran Talks

Tehran, with its rejection, conveyed its own 10-point plan to end the fighting through key mediator Pakistan, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said.

"We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won't be attacked again," Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of Iran's diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press. He said Iran no longer trusts the Trump administration after the US bombed the Islamic Republic twice during previous rounds of talks.

A regional official involved in talks said efforts had not collapsed. "We are still talking to both sides," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door diplomacy. And even Trump has said negotiations with Iran continued.