U.S. President Donald Trump's warning to destroy Iran if it did not yield to his demands drew rebukes from around the globe and even unnerved some aides and supporters, though administration officials said the increasingly hostile rhetoric was merely a negotiating tactic to force Tehran to concede, Reuters reported. 

"A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will," Trump wrote online early on Tuesday, ahead ​of the 8 p.m. EST (2400 GMT) deadline he set for Iran to strike a deal with the U.S.

At 6:32 p.m. EST, Trump announced he had agreed to a ‌two-week ceasefire with Iran.