President Trump threatened Iran with overwhelming military force late Wednesday, declaring US troops and naval assets will remain positioned around the Islamic Republic until Tehran fully complies with what he called the "REAL AGREEMENT" reached through Pakistani mediation.
"All US ships, aircraft, and military personnel … will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "If for any reason it is not … the 'Shootin' Starts,' bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before."
The inflammatory rhetoric came just 48 hours after a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire paused six weeks of fighting between Washington and Tehran, briefly calming global markets concerned about disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane. Trump's latest comments cast fresh doubt on the truce's durability.
Iran responded Thursday by publishing charts showing the Revolutionary Guard Corps had placed sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict. The danger zone maps, dated February 28 to April 9, directed ships to use routes closer to Iran's mainland near Larak Island. Iranian officials provided no clarity on whether the mines had been cleared.
The ceasefire itself remains contradictory. Tehran rejected sweeping US proposals and instead demanded an end to Israeli attacks on Lebanon and sanctions relief — conditions Washington has not accepted. Despite these disagreements, Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam confirmed a delegation would travel to Islamabad for talks with US representatives in coming days.
On Tehran's streets, skepticism runs deep about the truce's prospects. "It's all a theatrical show that Trump is playing. We have no belief in this ceasefire," one resident told Al Jazeera. Another dismissed the agreement entirely, citing Israel's continued bombardment of Lebanon: "A ceasefire has no meaning at all when our martyred leader has not even been buried yet, and when the rules of war are still being violated."
Trump's latest threats included boastful language about US military readiness, claiming American forces were "Loading Up and Resting, looking forward, actually, to its next Conquest." The president reiterated longstanding US demands that Iran abandon nuclear weapons ambitions and ensure safe passage through the vital shipping lane that handles roughly 20% of global oil traffic.
The fragile nature of the agreement reflects broader regional tensions, with Israeli military operations continuing across Lebanon despite ceasefire efforts. Iran has explicitly linked compliance with any US deal to an end to Israeli strikes, creating a three-way diplomatic puzzle that has yet to be resolved.
Watch for Iranian responses to Trump's latest threats and whether the planned Pakistan talks proceed as scheduled — both will signal whether this ceasefire can survive its first week.
