Iran has evacuated several energy and power plants across the country as a deadline nears for that country to open the Strait of Hormuz to international traffic or face an attack by the United States.

President Donald J. Trump has threatened to hit every power plant and refinery in Iran if the demands are not met within just a few hours.

Earlier, the two sides appeared to be close to a cease-fire agreement, but Iran is asking for a permanent end to the conflict and the end of punishing U.S. economic sanctions, which the United States has thus far rejected.

However, according to various media reports, both sides are still negotiating, even as the strikes against Iran continue.

The American and-Israeli attack against Iran has resulted in crippling military blows, including the elimination of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, much of the country’s main military leaders, and the death of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who died in an Israeli airstrike at the outset of the conflict.