Trump warns a ‘whole civilization will die tonight’ but says Iran still has time to capitulate before 8 p.m. ET deadline

WASHINGTON (AP) - Trump warns a 'whole civilization will die tonight' but says Iran still has time to capitulate before 8 p.m. ET deadline.

Facing heavy bombardment, many middle-class residents of Iran's capital have been waiting out the war in the country's coastal north.

A young designer who lives in central Tehran said her parents left at the beginning of the war but she stayed behind to take care of her cat.

Now, she says she's "terrified" by Trump's threats and is planning to drive north with her cat to join her family - if the U.S. really does knock out power plants after Tuesday night's deadline.

"If there is no electricity, there is no water because the water pressure in Tehran is low and all buildings have electric water pumps. You can't cook either. In the north, you can at least do something in nature, like the 'Stone Age' that he promised," she said.

The designer spoke on condition of anonymity for her safety.

Normally a popular vacation spot, the Caspian Sea coast is carpeted in forested mountains with plentiful water - unlike other areas which have suffered years of drought.

US Vice President JD Vance says he's 'confident' Iran will respond to US demands by evening deadline.

"I hope they're smart," he said.

Speaking during a news conference in Hungary's capital Budapest, Vance said the United States had already defeated Iran's militarily and that Iran was now "trying to exact as much economic pain on the world as possible" by keeping the Straight of Hormuz closed.

The U.S., he said, "has the ability to extract much greater economic cost on Iran than Iran has an ability to extract cost on us or on our friends in the world."

"We feel confident that we can get a response, whether it is positive or negative, by 8 o'clock tonight," he said referring to the 8 p.m. ET deadline set by President Trump.