Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
According to the president, “good and constructive talks” between the US and Iran are the reason — Iran says Trump backed down.
Friday, US President Donald Trump said he did not want a ceasefire in Iran, but that he was considering “winding down” military operations, CNBC reported.
Over the weekend, he then threatened Iran with an ultimatum on Truth Social: reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, or the US would attack Iran’s energy infrastructure, starting with the country’s biggest power plant.
Click to display external content from truthsocial,
- You can always enable and disable third-party content.
You agree to display external third-party content. Personal data may be sent to the provider of the content and other third-party services.
Click to display external content from iFrames except google ads,
- You can always enable and disable third-party content.
You agree to display external third-party content. Personal data may be sent to the provider of the content and other third-party services.
Fast forward to today, and Trump has made a new announcement: there will be no American attacks on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for the next five days.
According to the post on Truth Social, the reason for postponing the ultimatum deadline is “very good and productive conversations” between Iran and the US.
Article continues below.
Click to display external content from truthsocial,
- You can always enable and disable third-party content.
You agree to display external third-party content. Personal data may be sent to the provider of the content and other third-party services.
Click to display external content from iFrames except google ads,
- You can always enable and disable third-party content.
You agree to display external third-party content. Personal data may be sent to the provider of the content and other third-party services.
Iran: Trump backed down
Following the statement from Trump, Iranian state TV announced that the “US president backs down following Iran’s firm warning”, AP reported.
After Trump issued the ultimatum, Iran threatened to retaliate by targeting energy infrastructure in other countries in the region if its own was attacked.
According to the Irani news agency, Fars, cited by Reuters, there are no ongoing talks between Tehran and Washington at the moment.
Did Trump chicken out?
In May 2025, the term TACO gained traction on social media. It’s short for “Trump always chickens out” and referred to Trump’s threats and subsequent reversals following the sweeping tariffs he announced in April 2025.
Since the beginning of 2026, the term has also been used to characterize Trump’s way of navigating foreign policy, especially referring to his reversal of threats to annex Greenland.
The big question now is whether Trump did chicken out or if there are, in fact, productive talks going on between the US and Iran. When reading Trump’s post on Truth Social and the statement from Iranian state TV, it is unclear what the situation is.
Sources: CNBC, Truth Social posts from Donald Trump, AP News, Reuters
