The seven times Trump threatened Iran before pulling back
President Donald Trump announced late Saturday that he had called off planned U.S. strikes on Iran, saying renewed negotiations had raised hopes of easing the conflict and reopening shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The announcement follows a familiar pattern in Trump’s handling of the five-month conflict, with repeated threats of military action followed by abrupt pauses as diplomatic efforts resume. Several previous ceasefires and negotiating windows have collapsed within days, leading to fresh rounds of U.S. strikes.
Here’s a look at Trump’s major announcements on pausing military action against Iran:
Trump announced that the United States and Iran had agreed to a two-week ceasefire after weeks of fighting that began on Feb. 28 following Israeli and U.S. strikes.
The announcement came less than two hours before a deadline Trump had set for Iran to accept his demands or face attacks on bridges and power plants, warning that otherwise “a whole civilization will die.”
Trump extended the ceasefire indefinitely one day before it was due to expire, saying mediators had requested more time for negotiations. The pause lasted until May 8, when U.S. forces resumed strikes, targeting Iranian tankers.
After warning of a major military operation, Trump said he was delaying planned strikes because “serious negotiations” were underway.
“There seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out,” Trump said. “If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I’d be very happy.”
The talks later broke down, and U.S. strikes resumed on May 27.
Trump warned the United States would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and threatened to take “total control” of its oil and gas industry. Hours later, he said a diplomatic breakthrough had been reached and canceled the planned strikes.
Trump signed an initial agreement with Iran calling for a permanent halt to hostilities, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a 60-day negotiating period on Iran’s nuclear program. But he warned the agreement could be abandoned if talks failed.
“It’s a memorandum of understanding, and if I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs,” Trump said.
After Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump ordered fresh U.S. strikes while attending the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. He later declared the ceasefire effectively over and threatened to “just finish the job.”
Trump announced another pause in U.S. military operations after nearly two weeks of daily strikes on Iranian military and commercial targets. The suspension was intended to give negotiations another opportunity as Iran continued launching missiles and drones across the region.
