NY1

BY Louis Finley Manhattan

PUBLISHED 10:14 PM ET Apr. 07, 2026

President Donald Trump backed off his threat toward Iran Tuesday night, but for dozens of protesters in Union Square, it wasn’t nearly enough.

“We called this because Trump threatened to destroy the entire Iranian civilization,” an organizer with Refuse Fascism NYC, Travis Morales, said.

That threat came Tuesday morning, with the president warning on Truth Social that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran didn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Just before the protest, Trump announced a two-week ceasefire contingent on the strait reopening, and said a 10-point proposal from Iran is a “workable basis to negotiate.”

“I’m afraid this man is going to destroy our society and all civilization around the globe,” East Village resident Elaine Kerins said.

Iran accepted the ceasefire. For the crowd at Union Square, a temporary halt isn’t enough.

“This war is illegitimate, it’s illegal and it’s immoral,” Morales said.

“You’re not going to change anything from your couch other than the channel. So, you have to stand in the streets and if you want change, you have to let people know,” New Jersey resident Ramiro Lopez-Crespo said.

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