Facing a looming U.S. deadline, Iran’s president said Tuesday, April 7, 2026, that 14 million Iranians, including himself, have volunteered to sacrifice their lives in the war.

President Masoud Pezeshkian commented on X just ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline to bomb power stations and bridges in Iran if it doesn’t loosen its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.

The figure is double the other figures mentioned by state media in the past about volunteers the government had been soliciting by text messages and media as the war went on.

Iran is home to 90 million people. Many remain angry at the government over its bloody crackdown on nationwide demonstrations, and the 14 million figure likely is aimed at trying to dissuade the promised American bombing campaign.

“More than 14 million Iranian people have declared their readiness to sacrifice their lives in the (self-sacrificing) campaign,” Pezeshkian wrote. “I, too, have been, am, and will remain ready to give my life for Iran.”

Trump has threatened to bomb all of Iran’s power plants and bridges if Iran does not meet his Wednesday, 3:00 am EAT deadline to allow shipping traffic to fully resume through the strategic waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil transits in peacetime.

“The entire country can be taken out in one night,” Trump said. Trump has repeatedly extended previous deadlines, but suggested this one was final, saying he’d already given Iran enough extra time.

Israel’s military warned Iranians in Farsi to avoid taking trains throughout the day, likely telegraphing intended strikes on the rail network.

“Your presence puts your life at risk,” the warning posted on X read.

France joined a growing chorus of international voices calling for restraint, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot saying attacks targeting civilian and energy infrastructure “are barred by the rules of war, international law.”

“They would without doubt trigger a new phase of escalation, of reprisals, that would drag the region and the world economy into a vicious circle that would be very worrying and, most of all, very damaging to our own interests,” the minister said on France Info television.

Iran choked off shipping through the strait after Israel and the U.S. attacked on February 28, 2026, starting the war. On Monday, Tehran rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the war.

Early Tuesday, Tehran launched seven ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia, which authorities said rained debris on the ground near energy facilities as they were intercepted. Defence Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said the damage was being assessed.