“Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time! [paired with the threat that] a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
· Truth Social posts and remarks, setting a hard deadline of 8:00 p.m. ET on April 7, 2026
· ×4
Deadline Apr 7, 2026 · 5 months overdue
Hours before the deadline Pakistan's prime minister publicly asked Trump for a two-week extension. Trump said the US was in 'heated negotiations' and then agreed to suspend attacks for two weeks in exchange for Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz; Iran's Supreme National Security Council accepted and oil posted its biggest one-day drop since 2020. When the two weeks expired around April 21, 2026 Trump extended again and the arrangement became open-ended. On May 18, 2026 he posted that 'we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow.'
“[paraphrase] The core strategic objectives are nearing completion — we'll be out in two weeks, maybe three.”
· Remarks to reporters ahead of a planned address to the nation
· ×4
Deadline Apr 14, 2026 · 5 months overdue
The war did not end on that timeline. Fighting continued, petrol topped $4 a gallon, and a ceasefire only arrived on April 7, 2026 — itself only two weeks long and then repeatedly re-extended. By June 2026 Trump was touting 'complete victory' while the two-week framing recurred; by August 2026 the US-Iran memorandum of understanding had expired and collapsed, and on August 18, 2026 he was threatening to bomb Oman.
“I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES.”
· Truth Social post
· ×3
The pause was extended before it ran out. On March 26, 2026 Trump posted that he was 'pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days,' moving the deadline to April 6, and on April 5 he moved it again to 8:00 p.m. ET on April 7.
“If Iran doesn't FULLY OPEN [the Strait of Hormuz]... the United States will hit and obliterate their POWER PLANTS.”
· Truth Social post during the 2026 Iran war (Operation Epic Fury)
· ×6
Deadline Mar 23, 2026 · 6 months overdue
The 48 hours expired and the strikes were postponed rather than executed. It was the first in a chain of at least six short deadlines Trump set and then let pass during the 2026 Iran war, catalogued by ABC News in May 2026 under the headline 'Trump's series of unenforced deadlines.'
“Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.”
· Statement read by press secretary Karoline Leavitt at the White House briefing
Deadline Jul 3, 2025 · 1 year, 2 months overdue
The two-week window turned out to be misdirection in the other direction: US B-2 bombers struck Iranian nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan on June 21-22, 2025 — two days later, not two weeks. The episode triggered the June 2025 wave of 'two weeks' supercuts on CNN, NBC and late-night television.
“We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.”
· Inaugural address, U.S. Capitol
· ×30
The U.S. went to war with Iran on Feb. 28, 2026 in an operation the Pentagon named Epic Fury. Trump predicted in the first week that it would take 'four to five weeks'; six months later it was still going. Asked about the campaign pledge, he said 'I didn't guarantee no war. I didn't promise anything.' Rep. Adam Smith noted Trump had said specifically, 'If I'm president, we will not go to war with Iran.'
“[paraphrase] My number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran and negotiate a better one.”
· Speech to AIPAC, Washington, D.C.
· ×20
The United States withdrew from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018 and reimposed sanctions, but no replacement agreement was reached. Iran began exceeding the deal's limits in 2019, enriching to 20 percent purity by January 2021 and expanding its uranium stockpile well beyond the 300-kilogram cap. PolitiFact rated the promise broken, at a standstill as the 2020 election approached.