President Donald Trump issued an unprecedented ultimatum to Iran on Monday, warning that a failure to reach a ceasefire agreement shortly would trigger a devastating US assault on Iran's oil wells, power plants, and Kharg Island – infrastructure American forces have deliberately left untouched.
Opening a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, "The United States of America is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran." He added, "Great progress has been made," before continuing, "but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately 'Open for Business,' we will conclude our lovely 'stay' in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet 'touched.'"
The president concluded his post by stating, "This will be in retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has butchered and killed over the old Regime's 47 year 'Reign of Terror.'"
The remarks signal a shift toward a "finishing blow" approach to the war with Iran – a blow that would leave the Islamic Republic without meaningful economic infrastructure and cripple its post-war recovery prospects. Axios had reported earlier in the week that Trump and his administration were weighing a finishing blow should the effort to reach a deal fall short.
Trump presented an optimistic picture of the campaign against Iran on Monday, claiming the US was making progress both on the military front and through diplomatic channels, even as strikes continued and preparations for further escalation remained in place.
"We destroyed many targets today in Iran. We're negotiating with them directly and indirectly," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from his Florida residence to the White House. On the state of the talks, Trump said he "sees a deal" and that "it might happen soon," also claiming Tehran had already conceded to most American demands: "They gave us most of the points. They agree with us on the plan. We asked for 15 things, and we'll ask for two more things."
On the military side, Trump said the US was "ahead of schedule in Iran, weeks earlier," and noted, "I have a lot of alternatives. We have many ships there; we don't need all of them." While the president stopped short of committing to a ground deployment, he made clear the option remained on the table.
