WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran could be "taken out" in one night and that night "might" be Tuesday evening, the deadline Trump set for Iran to make a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

"The entire country could be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night," Trump told a press conference at the White House.

Trump said that Iran is an "active, willing participant" in the negotiations over the deal, claiming that the talks via intermediaries are "going well."

"I can't talk about ceasefire, but I can tell you that we have an active, willing participant on the other side. They would like to be able to make a deal. I can't say any more than that," Trump said.

"Essentially they have till 8 pm tomorrow night, Eastern Time, but we are dealing with them. I think it's going well," he said.

Trump also said at the press conference that his administration has a plan to strike and destroy bridges and power plants across Iran by midnight Tuesday.

"I mean complete demolition by 12 o'clock. And it will happen over a period of four hours if we wanted to. We don't want that to happen," Trump claimed.

Earlier on Monday, the president said that the 8 p.m. Eastern Time Tuesday deadline he has set for Iran is final.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at the press conference that US forces will launch the largest strikes on Iran since the start of the war on Feb. 28.

"Per the president's direction, today will be the largest volume of strikes since Day One of this operation. Tomorrow, even more than today. And then Iran has a choice," Hegseth told reporters.