Just before midnight on April 8, 2026, one day after agreeing to a two-week ceasefire with Iran brokered by Pakistan, Trump posted another war threat on Truth Social. On April 7, hours before announcing that ceasefire, he had warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” (see 'A Whole Civilization Will Die Tonight': Trump Declares 'Power Plant Day and Bridge Day' as 100+ Legal Experts Call It a War Crime).
He wrote that all U.S. 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,” adding: “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.” He said it had been agreed that there would be “NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS” and that the Strait of Hormuz “WILL BE OPEN & SAFE.”
He concluded: “In the meantime our great Military is Loading Up and Resting, looking forward, actually, to its next Conquest. AMERICA IS BACK!”
The ceasefire was already under strain. Israel, saying the truce did not cover Lebanon, launched some of its deadliest strikes there since the war began, killing at least 182 people that Wednesday according to CNBC and Al Jazeera, and Iran warned it would be “unreasonable” to proceed with talks. Tehran and Washington also disagreed publicly over the terms, with Trump calling a reported Iranian 10-point plan “totally fake.”
Correction (October 2, 2026): The entry quoted Trump as saying “If no deal is reached, then the 'Shootin' Starts'”; his post conditioned the threat on Iran failing to comply with an agreement already reached, and called that “highly unlikely.” It also said missiles flew between multiple Middle Eastern countries after the truce, which no source we found supports, and described the pattern as threatening “genocide” and posting “from bed,” which no source supports. Those claims have been removed, and the title no longer calls the post a “meltdown.” The entry was dated April 9; the post went up just before midnight Eastern on April 8, and the date has been corrected.