Trump threatens to renew war if Iran doesn’t comply with ‘real agreement’

US president vows forces will remain in the region in leadup to peace talks in Pakistan, as uncertainty about Lebanon and Strait of Hormuz threatens fragile ceasefire

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday night renewed his threat to use unprecedented force against Iran if it doesn’t comply with the terms of the ceasefire, ahead of scheduled peace talks between Washington and Tehran.

“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,” Trump said in a Truth Social post shortly before midnight eastern time.

Just over a day earlier, he had announced a two-week ceasefire between the US, Israel and Iran. But the truce was contingent on Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz — something it has reportedly refused to do as long as Israel refuses to halt its campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.

The US and Israel have claimed that Lebanon was not supposed to be part of the ceasefire, but Vice President JD Vance admitted there was a “legitimate misunderstanding” on the issue, and Pakistan — which is set to host talks between Iran and the US on Saturday — insisted that Lebanon is in fact supposed to be part of the truce.

The White House has denied or downplayed reports about Iran continuing to block ships in the strait, insisting that traffic has picked up since the ceasefire. But Trump’s message indicated that his frustration with Iran is once again mounting.

The US president threatened to resume fighting if the agreement with Iran is not complied with: “If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the ‘shooting starts’ bigger and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before.”

“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,” he wrote.

It was not entirely clear what “fake rhetoric” Trump was referring to, but he has taken particular issue with media reporting of statements from Iran’s supreme national council, which reportedly contradict what Iran had privately accepted in talks leading up to the ceasefire.

“In the meantime our great military is loading up and resting, looking forward, actually, to its next conquest,” Trump added. “AMERICA IS BACK!”

Iran: Talks ‘unreasonable’ amid Israeli strikes

Trump’s post followed the largest coordinated strike by Israel against Hezbollah, an Iran proxy group, since the war’s outset. The bombing killed 182 people in Lebanon Wednesday, according to a toll from the country’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The strikes prompted a warning from Iran’s lead negotiator that Israel’s ramping up its parallel war and Washington’s insistence on Tehran abandoning its nuclear ambitions could jeopardize the talks to forge a permanent deal.

“In such a situation, a bilateral ceasefire or negotiations were unreasonable,” Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, said in a Wednesday statement.

Oil prices climbed Thursday, with investors concerned about the fragility of the truce and elevated geopolitical risks over Middle East supply, doubting restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz would soon ease.

Israel’s blitz raised questions about regional truce efforts ahead of the talks set to start Saturday in Pakistan, with the country’s foreign ministry on Thursday condemning the Israeli operations, which it said “undermine international efforts to establish peace and stability.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier that Lebanon “must be fully covered” by the ceasefire.

Iran’s delegation for the talks was due to arrive in Islamabad on Thursday night.

“Despite skepticism of Iranian public opinion due to repeated ceasefire violations by Israeli regime… Iranian delegation arrives tonight in Islamabad for serious talks based on 10 points proposed by Iran,” Ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam said in a post on X on Thursday.

‘Freedom of navigation means navigation must be free’

There was scant sign, meanwhile, that the Strait of Hormuz was open in any meaningful way since the truce agreement, with Iran still asserting its control over the vital artery, a conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply, and demanding tolls for safe passage.

Tehran’s newly demonstrated ability to cut off Gulf energy supplies through its grip on the strait, despite decades of massive US military investment in the region, showed how the conflict has already altered power dynamics in the Gulf.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy posted a map Thursday showing alternative shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz to help ships avoid naval mines, the semi-official Iranian news agency ISNA said.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper was expected to give a statement Thursday urging toll-free shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, countering a push by Iran to control a channel that has long been treated as an international waterway.

“The fundamental freedoms of the seas must not be unilaterally withdrawn or sold off to individual bidders. Nor can there be any place for tolls on an international waterway,” read advance extracts of Cooper’s speech. “Freedom of navigation means navigation must be free.”