Trump threatens 'higher level' of bombing if Iran doesn't cooperate amid reports of deal nearing

LAST UPDATE | 27 mins ago

DONALD TRUMP HAS said the war on Iran could end if Tehran agrees to a proposal, but that the US will resume bombing the country “at a much higher level and intensity” than before if it does not.

It comes as US news site Axios is reporting that the White House believes both sides are close to agreeing on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the conflict. This would then set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations. 

It cited two US officials and two other sources familiar with the talks. 

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “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.

“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 said. 

Trump did not directly reference the reports that Washington and Tehran are close to an agreement to end the war, which began when the US and Israel bombed Iran on 28 February. 

Writing on X, Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was “hopeful” the current momentum would help bring an end to the conflict with a “lasting agreement”.

‘Project Freedom’ paused

It comes after Trump paused the US military operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz after less than 48 hours.

‘Project Freedom’, to guide ships from neutral countries out of the Strait, began on Monday. So far, two US-flagged merchant vessels travelled out of the Gulf under the operation. 

But last night, Trump said he was now pausing it after a request by Pakistan, which has acted as a mediator between the US and Iran, because “Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement” with Tehran. 

“We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom… will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed,” he wrote on Truth Social. 

The decision means more than 22,000 seafarers and 1,500 commercial ships are still waiting to transit the strait, according to US officials.

Washington is maintaining a blockade of Iran’s ports in a bid to pressure the country to make a deal to end the war.

Tensions had been soaring over the Hormuz operation, with the US saying it had sunk seven Iranian boats, and several civilian vessels coming under attack, allegedly from Iran.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi today met Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing for talks, his first trip to Tehran’s close ally since the beginning of the war.

According to Iranian state TV, Araghchi told Wang that Tehran would “only accept a fair and comprehensive agreement.”

After the talks, Wang called for an end to hostilities and for both countries to reopen the Strait of Hormuz “as soon as possible,” his ministry said.

Before the visit, US secretary of state Marco Rubio, a vocal China critic, called on Beijing to put pressure on Araghchi to end the blockade of the crucial waterway.

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“I hope the Chinese tell him (Araghchi) what he needs to be told, and that is that what you were doing in the straits is causing you to be globally isolated,” Rubio said yesterday. 

‘This is a defensive operation’

He said the US has completed its offensive operations against Iran, which it dubbed “Operation Epic Fury”.

Rubio’s comments echoed statements to Congress nearly a month into a fragile ceasefire.

“The operation is over – Epic Fury – as the president notified Congress. We’re done with that stage of it,” Rubio told reporters at the White House.

The clashes in the Strait of Hormuz were not part of the original war, he said.

“This is not an offensive operation; this is a defensive operation,” Rubio said. “And what that means is very simple – there’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first.”

Israel and the US attacked Iran on 28 February, killing top leaders and destroying major military and economic sites but not forcing the collapse of the Islamic republic, which has responded with missile and drone attacks across the region.

Trump on 8 April declared a ceasefire with Iran that he has since extended even though negotiations with Tehran have been at a standstill.

Rubio claimed the US has “achieved the objectives” of the war.

“These guys are facing, they are facing real, catastrophic destruction to their economy,” he said, while adding that Trump still preferred a negotiated deal with Iran.

Yesterday, Trump urged Iran to “do the smart thing” and make a deal to end the war. 

“We don’t want to go in and kill people. Really don’t. I don’t want to, it’s too rough,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.

He declined to say what Iran would have to do to formally violate the nearly month-long truce. In recent days, Iran has fired missiles and drones at US forces and the United Arab Emirates.

“You’ll find out,” he said. “They know what to do. They know what not to do, more importantly, actually.”

He also accused Iran of “playing games” with a deal to end the war, an agreement which Trump says must ensure that Tehran cannot develop a nuclear weapon.

“What I don’t like about Iran is they’ll talk to me with such great respect, and then they’ll go on television, they’ll say, ‘We did not speak to the President’,” Trump said.

“So they play games, but let me just tell you, they want to make a deal, and who wouldn’t? When your military is totally gone, we could do anything we want to them.”

With reporting from © AFP 2026 

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