US ‘locked and loaded’ for ‘much higher’ strikes if Iran talks fail as Trump pauses Hormuz ops
A fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is holding despite continued attacks, as President Donald Trump announced a pause in naval escort operations to allow negotiations to continue —...
By Fox News · Fox News
A fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is holding despite continued attacks, as President Donald Trump announced a pause in naval escort operations to allow negotiations to continue — while warning that failure to reach a deal would result in a significantly escalated bombing campaign. Trump said the pause in Project Freedom — the U.S. mission to guide commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz — is intended to give negotiators time to finalize what he described as a potential "complete and final agreement" with Iran, while maintaining that the U.S. naval blockade would remain in place. Trump suggested in a social media post Wednesday morning the conflict could soon come to an end if Iran agrees to the terms under discussion, but warned that if it does not, U.S. forces would resume bombing at a significantly higher level and intensity. LEAVITT EXPLAINS WHY IRAN'S SEIZURE OF TWO SHIPS DOESN'T VIOLATE TRUMP'S CEASEFIRE "Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran," Trump wrote Wednesday morning. "If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before." "We prefer this to be a peaceful operation, but are locked and loaded to defend our people, our ships, our aircraft, and this mission without hesitation," War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday. Even as negotiations advance, Iran has continued attacks on commercial vessels and U.S. forces, which officials say remain "below the threshold" of restarting major combat operations. Since the start of the ceasefire April 7, Iran has fired at commercial vessels nine times and attacked U.S. forces more than ten times, "all below the threshold of restarting major combat operations," according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. "No, the cea…