As the US and Iran escalate their war rhetoric, President Donald Trump's latest comment on Tehran has sparked confusion, as it comes just after his war of words over the Hormuz Strait and moves towards possible peace talks.
In his latest post on Truth Social, Trump declares that Iran was dead, and that the country had a new "greatest enemy".
"Now with the death of Iran, the greatest enemy America has is the Radical Left, Highly Incompetent, Democrat Party!" he wrote in the post, which comes barely a day after his war of words with Iran over the Hormuz Strait.
This comes amid the third week of chaos in the Gulf, as Trump mulls deploying ground troops to secure Kharg Island—a vital piece of land offshore that handles 90 per cent of Tehran's crude oil exports—to secure the Hormuz Strait.
Trump on Sunday also wrote a sharply worded 48-hour ultimatum on Truth Social, declaring that the US would "hit and obliterate" Iran's power plants if the Hormuz Strait were not opened fully "WITHOUT THREAT".
Iran has since not budged on its "special conditions" imposed in the Hormuz Strait, under which US and allied vessels have not been permitted to transit the waterway—with Tehran promising attacks on those that tried—while certain vessels from friendly nations have been allowed to pass through with permission.
Iranian lawmaker M.B. Ghalibaf has also said that the US attacks on its power plants would be met with reciprocal attacks on vital energy infrastructure in countries around the region, which would leave them "irreversibly destroyed".
بلافاصله پس از هدف قرار گرفتن نیروگاههای برق و زیرساخت در کشورمان، زیرساختهای حیاتی و زیرساختهای انرژی و نفت در سراسر منطقه اهداف مشروع تلقی شده و به نحو بازگشتناپذیر منهدم خواهند شد و قیمت نفت برای مدتها بالاتر خواهد رفت. وألقِ ما في يمينك تَلْقَفْ ما صَنَعوا.
— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) March 22, 2026
The Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday also warned that attacks on Tehran's power plants would make them "completely close" the Hormuz Strait, and it would not be reopened till the destroyed facilities are rebuilt.
US on 'winding down'
Trump is also seen as slowly diverging from Israel in terms of war objectives, with US President Donald Trump on Friday discussing the possibility of "winding down" as its objectives in the war are nearly complete. Israel, however, has made no indication its war objectives were complete.
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"The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not! If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn’t be necessary once Iran’s threat is eradicated," he said in another Truth Social post, claiming five US outcomes of the war so far.
In that regard, the Trump administration has begun initial discussions on the next phase of the chaos in the Gulf and setting the groundwork for possible peace talks with Iran, an Axios report said, citing two sources in the know.
Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are involved in the discussions around potential diplomacy, which may follow 2-3 more weeks of fighting, the report added.
