Donald Trump makes shifting public comments about potential US military action against Iran, with threats and later walkbacks that change over days or weeks, according to accounts compiled by Al-Monitor and Dawn. Since fighting begins on February 28, Trump declares periods of victory and adjusts his message and timeline, at times threatening strikes on specific targets and other times pausing or suspending attacks. In March, he issues an ultimatum demanding Iran fully opens the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, with warnings of US attacks on “power plants.” That deadline is later extended and the “period” for damaging energy infrastructure is pushed back, with Trump citing diplomatic conversations. In early April, he intensifies language, then later says he agrees to suspend bombing for two weeks after accepting a truce proposal discussed with war mediators and involving Pakistan. Later posts also reference planned strikes and potential targeting of oil infrastructure, followed by cancellations tied to negotiation progress. The conflict later re-intensifies, and Trump again signals future harsh actions while also saying the US is asked to hold off on attacks as part of claimed deal perimeters. Iranian state media denies that any such request is made.
Trump repeatedly threatens, delays and retracts strikes against Iran as war shifts
Donald Trump makes shifting public comments about potential US military action against Iran, with threats and later walkbacks that change over days or weeks, according to accounts compiled by Al-Monit...
- Trump’s public statements about US strikes against Iran change repeatedly, including threats, extensions, and suspensions, since fighting starts on February 28.
- In March, Trump threatens action if Iran does not open the Strait of Hormuz, and references attacks on Iran’s power plants.
- In early April, Trump later says he agrees to suspend bombing for two weeks after accepting a truce proposal mediated with involvement including Pakistan.
- Trump makes posts warning of renewed or expanded strikes, including oil infrastructure and other targets, but later cancels scheduled strikes citing progress in negotiations.
- Iranian state media denies Trump’s claim that Iran and other countries asked the US to hold off on attacks.
Donald Trump has made some of the most aggressive public threats about military action of any modern US president. He has walked back many of them too. The 80-year-old Republican’s comments about the US war against Iran have shifted, sometimes dramatically and quickly, since the conflict erupted on February 28. He has repeatedly declared victory, claiming Iran’s military capabilities were utterly defeated, only to later tweak the war timeline or threaten Tehran with more strikes. He praised Iran’s new leaders on June 17 as “very smart” and “far less radicalized” than their predecessors killed in US and Israeli strikes. By July 8, a frustrated Trump changed his tune. “I don’t want to deal with them anymore, they’re scum,” he said. Here are some of the main examples of Trump’s threats against Iran, and how he has dialed them back. March 21 “If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” Trump’s threat, made on his Truth Social platform, was striking given that an intentional attack on power plants, deemed essential civilian infrastructure, is widely considered a war crime. March 23 Two days later, Trump extended the deadline for five days, citing “very good and productive conversations” with Iran. He then paused the “period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 days” to April 6, citing ongoing diplomatic talks. April 5 With time running out on his 10-day extension, Trump unleashed a profanity-laded post on Easter Sunday: “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell.” He concluded by saying “Praise be to Allah.” April 7 “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Trump announced in a post that many interpreted as a threat to wipe out Iran and it’s population of roughly 90 million. April 7 Hours later, he said: “I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump said, accepting a truce proposal from war mediators after he spoke to leaders in Pakistan. June 11 “The United States will be hitting Iran… VERY HARD TONIGHT” and “at some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island” and other oil infrastructure locations, Trump posted on Truth Social. June 11 Five hours later Trump said he “cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening,” citing progress in negotiations towards securing a deal aimed at ending the war. An interim deal to end the fighting was signed in June, but within a month the conflict re-intensified, with Iran hitting US facilities across the Middle East and US forces striking Iranian coastal defenses but expanding the targets to include bridges and infrastructure. July 31 “We’ll be hitting them very hard, and you know at some point they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore,’” Trump told a meeting of his cabinet Friday. August 1 “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack,” Trump said, claiming that “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.” Iran’s state media vigorously denied that such a request was made by the Islamic republic.
3 hours agoDonald Trump has made some of the most aggressive public threats about military action of any modern US president. He has walked back many of them too. The 80-year-old Republican's comments about the US war against Iran have shifted, sometimes dramatically and quickly, since the conflict erupted on February 28. He has repeatedly declared victory, claiming Iran's military capabilities were utterly defeated, only to later tweak the war timeline or threaten Tehran with more strikes.
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