President Donald Trump [Reuters Yonhap News]

U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 4th (local time) to Iran, "There isn't much time. You have 48 hours until the gates of hell open for them."

In a post on the social media platform Truth Social that day, President Trump emphasized, "Remember when I gave Iran ten days to agree (to the U.S. peace proposal) or open the Strait of Hormuz."

This is interpreted as a reminder that President Trump had set a deadline of the 6th, two days away, for an agreement with Iran.

President Trump had initially set the deadline for the 27th of last month, stating that he would bomb Iran's power plants thereafter, but extended it by ten days to April 6th.

On the 30th of last month, he also warned that if an agreement failed, he would "end our lovely 'stay' in Iran by blowing up all of their power stations, oil wells, and Khark Island (and perhaps all desalination plants), completely devastating them."

Furthermore, in a national address on the 1st, he stated, "Over the next two to three weeks, we will deliver an extremely powerful blow to Iran. We will send them back to the Stone Age where they belonged."