U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media aboard Air Force One on May 15, 2026 as he returns to the United States.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened Iran to “get moving,” or seemingly face new consequences.
“For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!”
Trump did not detail what exactly the consequences would be, nor what he expects Iran to do in order to avoid them.
The U.S. and Iran have been at loggerheads in negotiations to end the war since a tenuous ceasefire was reached in early April. The U.S. continues to blockade Iranian ports, while Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the conflict.
But the apparent threat is not the first time Trump has menaced Tehran in stark terms on social media. Prior to the April ceasefire, he warned that a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” unless Iran capitulated to U.S. demands. He had previously threatened to strike civilian infrastructure, including Iran’s power plants and bridges, which could constitute a war crime.
The closure of the strait, a critical channel for oil, has wreaked havoc on the economy, sending oil prices soaring globally and spiking gasoline prices in the U.S. The national average price for gasoline in the U.S. was $4.51 per gallon on Sunday, according to AAA.
The U.S. is demanding that Iran abandon its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is demanding reparations for the war’s damage, an end to the blockade and an immediate end to the fighting, including in Lebanon.
