President Trump threatened Wednesday to unleash a “bigger, and better, and stronger” military assault on Iran if the regime doesn’t live up to its end of a peace bargain.
Trump, in a late-night Truth Social post, confirmed that the US forces he surged to the Middle East will remain there until Tehran fully complies with the deal.
“All US Ships, Aircraft, and Military Personnel, with additional Ammunition, Weaponry, and anything else that is appropriate and necessary for the lethal prosecution and destruction of an already substantially degraded Enemy, will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with,” the president wrote.
President Trump speaks during a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 6, 2026. Anadolu via Getty Images“If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the ‘Shootin’ Starts,’” he warned, noting it would be “bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before.”
Trump asserted it was “agreed, a long time ago, and despite all of the fake rhetoric to the contrary – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS and, the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE.”
“In the meantime our great Military is Loading Up and Resting, looking forward, actually, to its next Conquest. AMERICA IS BACK!” the president’s post concluded.
Trump’s statement comes ahead of planned talks between US and Iranian leaders in Islamabad, where Pakistani mediators will facilitate negotiations to end the war.
Vice President JD Vance will lead the US delegation in talks with Iran, which are expected to take place Saturday.
An Iranian cluster munition is fired toward Tel Aviv and the surrounding area on April 8, 2026, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Getty Images
Smoke rises from the site of a US-Israeli strike on the Iranian capital, Tehran, on April 7, 2026. AFP via Getty Images
Iranians burn US and Israeli flags after the cease-fire announcement at Enqelab square, in Tehran, on April 8, 2026. AFP via Getty ImagesIn the meantime, Trump and Iranian leaders have agreed to a two-week cease-fire.
In his cease-fire announcement Tuesday, Trump indicated a 10-point proposal offered by Iran would serve as a “workable basis on which to negotiate.”
The president has accused the New York Times and CNN of reporting on a “totally FAKE TEN POINT PLAN on the Iran negotiations which was meant to discredit the people involved in the peace process.”
Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, indicated earlier Wednesday that US forces would be “ready” to jump back into the fight if needed.
“A cease-fire is a pause and the joint force remains ready if ordered or called upon to resume combat operations with the same speed and precision as we’ve demonstrated over the last 38 days,” Caine told reporters at a Pentagon briefing. “And we hope that that is not the case.”
