“The Shootin’ Starts”: Trump Warns U.S. Forces Will Remain Near Iran Until Lasting Deal Is Secured

WASHINGTON D.C. — President Donald Trump declared late Wednesday that American military forces will remain positioned in and around Iran until a permanent peace agreement is fully secured, issuing a stark warning just one day after announcing a two-week ceasefire with the Islamic Republic. In a fiery post on Truth Social, Trump made clear that the pause in hostilities does not signal a withdrawal. “All U.S. 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,” the President wrote. The statement comes on the heels of Operation Epic Fury, during which U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets launched from the USS Abraham Lincoln in what the administration has described as a decisive campaign to degrade Iranian military capabilities. Trump added a characteristically blunt ultimatum: “If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the ‘Shootin’ Starts,’ bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before.”

The President outlined non-negotiable pillars for any final deal, insisting that Iran must remain permanently free of nuclear weapons and that the strategic Strait of Hormuz—a chokepoint for nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil—must be fully reopened and safe for international transit. “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,” Trump wrote. While the administration has framed the two-week ceasefire as a diplomatic opening, the President’s latest remarks suggest a posture of overwhelming military readiness, with forces “Loading Up and Resting” but poised to strike. “In the meantime our great Military is Loading Up and Resting, looking forward, actually, to its next Conquest,” Trump concluded. “AMERICA IS BACK!” As the ceasefire clock ticks, the world now watches to see whether Tehran will meet Trump’s demands—or whether the “Shootin'” indeed begins.