Less than ninety minutes before his deadline, Trump backed down, writing in a social-media post that he had agreed to a two-week cease-fire with Iran and would suspend his threatened strikes subject to the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump had spent days warning that he would bomb Iran's bridges, power plants, and other civilian infrastructure, insisting the country's people "would be willing to suffer that in order to have freedom." As he appeared to threaten to destroy a country of 93 million people, he also seemed to leave the door open to a deal to avert the calamitous strikes.
"WHO KNOWS?" he wrote. "We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World."
As the hours ticked by, everyone from Pope Leo to actor Ben Stiller called on Trump to back down. Administration officials fielded phone calls from executives and political allies trying to decipher whether Trump's threat was a bluff or a prelude to an escalation.
European officials huddled on a call and largely convinced themselves that Trump would back off. On Wall Street, traders and executives treated the day like other Trump deadlines that have come and gone: as a negotiating tactic they largely expected to pass without catastrophe.
Scrambling for an off-ramp
Trump's social-media post lighted up group chats across the globe and set off a scramble by U.S. allies and mediators to find an off-ramp or buy more time.
As his threat made the rounds in Iran, many residents prepared for power and gas to go out and debated whether it would be safer to stay in the city or decamp for the countryside. Some dusted off old camping stoves and refilled oil canisters. "When the pain becomes deep enough, the fear fades," a 42-year-old Iranian woman said, citing five weeks of war and years of repression and economic crisis in the country.
Less than 30 minutes after Trump's post, Iranian officials told Egypt that Tehran had cut off direct communications with U.S. negotiators, according to officials from an Arab government. Officials from multiple Arab governments warned that the president's threat would likely have the opposite effect on Iran's hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which had signaled that it would plunge the region into darkness if Iranian infrastructure was attacked.
Trump's post made headlines in Israel as people there were getting ready for the end of Passover. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert read the message just before sirens warning of an Iranian missile threat went off in central Israel and sent him into his home's bomb shelter. "I tend not to accept the statement by President Trump at face value," Olmert said from his shelter. "I want to believe what he meant is we will destroy the regime. I don't think we can accept any destruction, total or partial, of Iranian civilization."
At 9 a.m., Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine logged on to their daily secure videoconference with Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command. Cooper and military planners at the Pentagon had been preparing for potential strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure, according to two U.S. officials. Military planners pulled out existing target lists that had already been reviewed and vetted by military lawyers.
Officials said the list of targets was far fewer than Trump's threat that "every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding." Each target was legally viable, officials said, because it had a clear connection to Iran's military and security forces and wouldn't harm the civilian population excessively. Overnight, the U.S. military pounded more than 50 targets on Kharg Island, but didn't strike oil infrastructure, according to U.S. officials.
"The entire Department serves at the direction of the President and will execute his military objectives without fail," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said.
'We will see the emperor has no clothes'
Trump's threat set off similar discussions among Trump allies and influencers, who engaged in furious speculation on live-streams and podcasts. "He's trying to sound threatening and crazy," Tim Pool, a social media personality with more than two million followers, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. If Trump fails to follow through, "we will see the emperor has no clothes...This will be his final gambit," he said in a video he later filmed for his followers.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was in the air en route to Washington when Trump published his social-media post. He was set to meet on Wednesday with Trump, Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Some European officials huddled on a call to discuss the fallout from the president's threat. The consensus was that Trump was going to back off, two of the officials on the call said.
In Budapest, Vice President JD Vance took the stage with Hungarian President Viktor Orban. "I hope they're smart," Vance said about the Iranians. "The president has set a deadline for about 12 hours from now in the United States. We're going to find out but there's going to be a lot of negotiation between now and then."
At 10:30 a.m., Fox News host Bret Baier appeared on air with a message from the president. He said Trump had told him that "8 p.m. is happening," adding, "If we get to that point, there is going to be an attack like they have not seen."
With the clock ticking on his self-imposed deadline, Trump seemed to vacillate between last-minute diplomacy to head off a major escalation and more mundane activities. In the morning, he phoned into a rally at a sports arena in Budapest headlined by Vance, who displayed his cellphone on stage before thousands of Orban supporters.
He held meetings with tech investor David Sacks and Justice Department officials at the White House, according to a person familiar with the matter. He fired off more than two-dozen Truth Social posts endorsing candidates for Indiana state legislative races.
Inside the Trump administration, some officials privately expressed concern about the president’s threat. One White House official called Trump’s post disturbing, adding that the president’s focus on foreign affairs is distracting from domestic priorities that could win over the public.
Other senior administration officials and Trump allies said they viewed the Truth Social post as a negotiating tactic.
Text chains that included tech CEOs and investors lighted up with concern about the potentially destabilizing effects of the president’s threats after five weeks of war that have driven up oil prices and rocked the global economy, people on the threads said.
Sovereign-wealth funds located in Gulf countries -- several of which have been bombed by Iran in recent weeks -- have been major investors in the AI revolution that has been powering both the tech sector and U.S. economic growth during Trump’s second term. If they had to invest more in defense, they would not be able to invest as much in America’s AI boom, people who have talked to the funds’ leaders said.
On Wall Street, traders were hesitant to be out on a limb when Trump had so often changed direction and while many expected Trump to launch an attack, few were betting the most realistic scenario was widespread destruction.
Citigroup amended protocols much like it does around a presidential election, such as pausing any minor coding updates to its trading tools or anything else that could slow operations, people familiar with the matter said.
"It's been dizzying," said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners. "There is one eye on the market screens and one on Trump's Truth Social page."
Carlyle Vice Chairman James Stavridis, a retired U.S. Navy admiral, gave an internal briefing to executives saying he believed that the chances of a cease-fire in the next few weeks were about 65% because both sides are incentivized to negotiate. But he cautioned there was a 35% chance of further conflict, more escalation from both sides, and the Strait of Hormuz staying closed.
Bryan Lanza, a former Trump adviser who is now a corporate consultant, received a wave of inquiries from clients -- including executives in the energy and finance sector -- after Trump's post went up, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Lanza fielded inquiries while he was on vacation in the Turks and Caicos, urging calm and arguing that Trump wouldn't follow through on his threat.
As the day wore on, Trump's threat drew reactions from all corners. "Stop the escalation. End the war now. No one wants this," actor Ben Stiller posted. Pope Leo, who has been critical of the U.S. war in Iran, called Trump's threats "truly unacceptable."
A last-ditch push for a deal
By midafternoon, with little progress, some European officials weighed in publicly. "One does not erase a civilization," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in a local television interview.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of Trump's closest European allies, also issued a rare criticism. "It is crucial to clearly distinguish between the responsibilities of a regime and the fate of millions of ordinary citizens," she said. "Iran's civilian population cannot and must not pay the price for the sins of its leaders."
This message was echoed from Capitol Hill. It would be a "huge mistake" if Trump attacks civilian targets, Trump ally Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) said, adding that he hoped Trump was trying to "use his unpredictability" to make a deal. Dozens of Democrats called for Trump to be removed from office via the 25th Amendment or other means.
Soon after, there were the first signals that Trump's deadline could slip as U.S. allies pushed for more time for diplomacy. Shortly after 3 p.m., Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif publicly called on Trump to extend his ultimatum by two weeks and back a U.S.-Iran cease-fire, urging Tehran in turn to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for the same period as a goodwill gesture.
"The President has been made aware of the proposal, and a response will come," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response to Pakistan's appeal. Trump later told Fox News the U.S. was in "heated negotiations" to reach a deal with Iran.
The president spent most of the afternoon holed up with key aides in the Oval Office, taking calls and listening to pros and cons of the proposal.
At 6:32 p.m., Trump announced on Truth Social that he would hold off on his planned strikes. "[S]ubject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks," he wrote.
Some U.S. officials said they were worried Iran wouldn't fully meet Trump's demands, potentially bringing both Washington and Tehran back to the brink in two weeks.