Six months of conflict with Iran, as told through Trump's 319 Truth Social posts

Exactly six months after the United States and Israel launched a joint airstrike campaign against Iran, President Donald Trump has made at least 319 posts referencing Iran on his Truth Social platform — an average of one post every 14 hours. That figure is part of roughly 4,189 posts he made on Truth Social between February 28 and August 25, or about 24 posts per day.

According to an Al Jazeera analysis, roughly one in every 13 posts mentioned Iran. Trump posted about Iran most frequently in the Washington morning hours (8 a.m. to 11 a.m., corresponding to 1 p.m.–4 p.m. GMT), overlapping with Tehran's evening.

The keyword “Iran” appeared 510 times — more than triple the next most common term. Notably, the two next most-used words were not the names of Iranian leaders or its nuclear program, but Trump's own name and the United States. He referred to himself as “President Donald J Trump” or “President DJT” 221 times — more than his mentions of the Strait of Hormuz, nuclear weapons, and Israel combined.

Before the war: “MAKE THE DEAL!”

In the two months before February 28, Iran appeared in only 17 of Trump's posts — roughly one every three days. The message mixed hard-line threats with transactional diplomacy. He praised Iran's leadership for canceling more than 800 scheduled executions, voiced support for anti-government protesters, threatened 25 percent tariffs on countries doing business with Iran, and repeatedly urged Tehran to negotiate under the banner “MAKE THE DEAL!”

On January 28, Trump declared that “a large fleet is heading toward Iran.” A month later, his messages escalated toward military force, referencing “Operation Midnight Hammer” — the U.S. military campaign in June 2025 that severely damaged Iran's uranium enrichment facilities during the 12-day war with Israel.

February 28: “A major combat operation”

At 1:35 a.m. Eastern time (6:35 GMT) on February 28, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the start of Operation Epic Fury on the president's orders. Fifty-five minutes later, Trump posted an eight-minute video on Truth Social providing details of the U.S. “major combat operation” in Iran.

Later that evening, he wrote: “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead,” referring to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had led the country since 1989. Over the next two weeks, Trump posted 40 times, insisting the airstrikes were justified and rejecting any option short of “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”

The Strait of Hormuz — which would dominate the war over the following five months — was not mentioned until March 10. On March 13, Trump declared that CENTCOM had “completely destroyed all military targets on Iran's jewel, Kharg Island,” while adding he chose not to destroy the island's oil infrastructure “for reasons of kindness.”

March 14: “We have destroyed 100% of Iran's military capability”

Two weeks into the war, Trump posted: “We have destroyed 100% of Iran's military capability.” He spent much of the rest of March and April listing airstrikes on Kharg Island, bridges, and power plants, issuing 48-hour and 10-day ultimatums regarding the Strait of Hormuz, and repeatedly asserting that Iran's navy, air force, and leadership had “disappeared.”

Amid the threats, he also attacked NATO, France, Britain, the Democratic Party — which he called “Dumocrats” — and “fake news” media.

April 7: “A whole civilization will die tonight”

On the evening of April 7, Trump warned that “a civilization will die tonight” as he announced a “final” airstrike on Iran. The strike did not happen. Ten hours and twenty-six minutes later, he said Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Marshal Asim Munir had asked him to hold off, and he agreed to a two-week ceasefire on condition Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

April 12: “BLOCKADE all ships”

On the morning of April 12, Trump posted about a naval blockade as “the card the president holds if Iran does not submit.” Hours later, he declared: “The United States Navy, the greatest force in the world, will begin the process of BLOCKADING all ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz.” The blockade, later nicknamed “THE STEEL WALL,” became the one measure he never conceded.

April 20: “Israel never convinced me to go to war with Iran”

Trump posted this on April 20. Yet even though the two countries launched the campaign together, Israel was nearly absent from his posts — appearing only 32 times, less than one-tenth of all posts. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was named only twice.

The next day, Pakistan asked him to extend the ceasefire. He agreed but maintained the blockade. He repeatedly noted Iran was losing $500 million a day due to the blockade.

Around 4 a.m. on April 29, he posted that “Iran has just announced that they are in a ‘State of Collapse’” and wanted to reopen the strait. He then posted an AI-generated image of himself holding an assault rifle.

May 3: “Operation Freedom will begin on Monday morning”

On May 3, Trump announced Operation Freedom — a U.S. Navy mission to escort ships of non-related nations out of the strait. Three days later, he paused the operation “at the request of Pakistan and other countries.”

From May through June, the war became a public negotiation. On May 18, he said he had canceled an attack at the request of Gulf leaders. Five days later, he posted from the Oval Office after calls with those leaders alongside officials from Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain, negotiating a memorandum of understanding for peace. Israel was not on the call; he said he had spoken separately with Netanyahu.

Over the next four weeks, the war was waged by blockade rather than airstrikes. On May 29, he laid out his terms and described Iran as a “FAILED STATE” unable to pay its military. On June 11, he promised to strike Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT,” then canceled hours later.

June 14: “Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran has been completed”

On June 14, Trump announced the deal was done and urged the world's ships to start their engines. The same day, he criticized Israel's airstrike on Beirut, saying it “should not have happened.”

The deal quickly unraveled. On June 26, between two posts about his high approval ratings, he said Iran had fired at least four drones at ships in the strait, one hitting a cargo ship's deck. Two days later, U.S. planes struck Iranian missile depots and coastal radar for “VIOLATING the Ceasefire Agreement, AGAIN!” He ended with a warning: “It may be time for us to lose patience and be forced to finish the job militarily. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will cease to exist!”

On July 8, he posted a photo of a fire at Chabahar in southeastern Iran, shared from a pro-Israel open-source intelligence account, captioned as “retaliation for Iran's ship bombing yesterday.”

July 10: “The ceasefire is OVER!”

Trump declared the ceasefire “IS OVER” on July 10. Three days later, the blockade was reinstated; he wrote, “we are reimposing the IRAN BLOCKADE.” On July 22, he set a rule: for every Iranian attack on ships in the strait, the U.S. would destroy “ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT.” On August 2, he canceled another planned attack — this time at the request of Iran and unnamed regional countries.

August 10: “Donald Trump won the Iran war”

On August 10, Trump posted a link to an article titled “Donald Trump won the Iran war.” By August, the conflict had shifted to economics. The 60-day memorandum expired with no replacement. He said he would declare the strait U.S. territory, and on August 19 announced “THE MOST DEVASTATING ECONOMIC CAMPAIGN EVER WAGED AGAINST ANY NATION,” threatening any country that financially aided Iran.

Thus, over 32,478 words across six months, the war with Iran reached the public post by post, in the American president's own words.