WASHINGTON — Just after midnight on Monday, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to deliver a pointed message to both allies and critics: stand down, let him negotiate, and trust the outcome. The post came hours after the latest round of military exchanges between U.S. and Iranian forces — and as a proposed 60-day ceasefire extension sat unsigned on his desk, awaiting his final approval.
“Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the U.S.A. and those that are with us,” Trump wrote at 12:02 a.m. on June 1.
The Post
The message was brief but sweeping in scope, simultaneously expressing confidence in the diplomatic path forward and frustration with the political environment surrounding it. Trump directed his criticism at what he called “political hacks” — drawing in members of both parties — who he said were interfering with his ability to conduct the delicate, ongoing negotiations with Tehran.
Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the U.S.A. and those that are with us. But don’t the Dumocrats, and various seemingly unpatriotic Republicans, understand that it is MUCH tougher for me to properly do my job and negotiate, when political hacks keep… pic.twitter.com/aqE6G0UKGv
— Commentary Donald J Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) June 1, 2026
“…it is MUCH tougher for me to properly do my job and negotiate, when political hacks keep negatively ‘chirping,’ at levels never seen before, over and over again, that I should move faster, or move slower, or go to war, or not go to war, or whatever,” the president wrote. He closed with a message of reassurance: “Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end – It always does! President DJT.”
A Weekend of Strikes
The post arrived only hours after U.S. Central Command confirmed it had conducted “self-defense strikes” over the weekend, targeting Iranian radar and drone command-and-control sites in the city of Goruk and on Qeshm Island. CENTCOM said the strikes were in response to what it called “aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a U.S. MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps wasted no time responding. The IRGC said its Aerospace Force struck and destroyed the air base from which the “aggressor U.S. military” had launched an attack on a telecommunications tower on Sirik Island in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province. CENTCOM also confirmed it intercepted two Iranian missiles targeting U.S. troops in Kuwait on Sunday night.
CENTCOM said U.S. fighter aircraft responded by eliminating Iranian air defenses, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that posed threats to ships transiting regional waters, adding that no U.S. troops were harmed in the Iranian attack.
The IRGC’s Warning
The IRGC did not stop at the retaliatory strike. The IRGC Aerospace Force issued a stern warning against further military action, stating that if the aggression is repeated, “the response will be completely different, and responsibility for its consequences will rest with the aggressor and child-killing US regime.”
The attacks represented the latest in several exchanges of fire in recent days, coming as indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to build on a fragile ceasefire — which took effect in April — continue. There have been mixed signals about whether the two sides are close to an agreement to extend the truce.
The Deal on the Table
The backdrop to Trump’s midnight post is a ceasefire agreement that has been tantalizingly close to finalization for days. U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, but Trump has yet to give his final approval.
According to sources, during the proposed 60-day ceasefire extension, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would be “unrestricted,” Iran would have to remove all mines from the strait within 30 days, and the U.S. naval blockade would be lifted in proportion to the restoration of commercial shipping.
On Friday, May 29, Trump had convened his national security team in the White House Situation Room. Trump confirmed the high-level White House talks the day after the Associated Press and other outlets reported that U.S. and Iranian negotiators had come to terms on a tentative agreement. In a social media post from inside the Situation Room, Trump outlined his demands, writing that Iran must agree to “never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb” and that the Strait of Hormuz must be “immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic.”
A Three-Month Conflict
The current ceasefire and negotiations are the product of a conflict that has reshaped the region over the past three months. Trump announced “major combat operations” against Iran on February 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government, and infrastructure sites. Following weeks of heightened tensions, a conditional two-week ceasefire was announced on April 8, linked to Iran agreeing to reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
The ceasefire was arranged by Pakistan and has since been extended. Talks between the U.S. and Iran are being mediated by Pakistan, with issues under discussion including freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear and ballistic program, reconstruction, sanctions, and a long-term peace agreement.
Political Pressure From Both Sides
Trump’s frustration with domestic critics — singling out both “Dumocrats” and what he called “seemingly unpatriotic Republicans” — reflects the pressure bearing down from multiple directions. Since the ceasefire began, the U.S. and Iran have traded strikes and accusations of ceasefire violations, but have not returned to full-scale hostilities and have kept negotiating.
Vice President JD Vance said Thursday evening that while he “can’t guarantee that we’re going to get there” in reaching a deal with Iran, the president “will be in a position where he can endorse the agreement, but obviously that’s still TBD.” With fresh military exchanges now added to the equation, the window for sealing a deal before tensions fully reignite remains narrow — and, as Trump put it just after midnight, entirely in his hands.