Donald Trump has threatened to resume bombing Iran if the Islamic Republic doesn’t agree to his surrender deal to end the war.
“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran,” the president posted on Truth Social early Wednesday morning.
“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” he added.
It comes after a report suggested Trump was considering lifting sanctions against Iran and unfreezing billions of dollars in assets in exchange for peace and the Strait of Hormuz being fully reopened.
Administration insiders told Axios that Trump’s team believes they’re getting close to reaching a deal with the Islamic Republic, including “a moratorium on nuclear enrichment” in return for the U.S. lifting sanctions and unfreezing the assets.
But the outlet notes that “many of the terms laid out in the memo would be contingent on a final agreement being reached,” leaving open “the possibility of renewed war” or even “an extended limbo in which the hot war has stopped but nothing is truly resolved.”
Trump’s Truth Social threats also follow his announcement on Tuesday evening that he was pausing “Project Freedom,” a U.S. naval mission launched to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the waterway each year, which Iran has effectively blockaded since Trump launched the hostilities on February 28.
The pause came at the request of Pakistan, which has been mediating between Washington and Tehran since the April 8 ceasefire that halted “Operation Epic Fury,” the Pentagon’s name for the broader campaign against Iran.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Tuesday that Epic Fury was “over” and that the United States had achieved its objectives.
The White House notified Congress last week that hostilities had been “terminated,” narrowly sidestepping an otherwise mandatory House vote on whether to continue the conflict past the 60-day mark.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment on this story.
