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Washington, United States — President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that the Islamic Republic of Iran "will no longer exist" if the United States is forced to resume full-scale military operations, issuing his most direct annihilation threat since the U.S.-Iran war began on February 28, 2026. In a pair of posts on Truth Social on June 28, Trump said U.S. aircraft had just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites after what he described as repeated violations of a 60-day ceasefire agreement. The U.S. strikes, conducted for a second consecutive night, followed attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, including Iran’s drone attack on the oil tanker Kiku and an earlier strike on the cargo ship Ever Lovely, which Trump had called a "foolish violation" of the ceasefire. Tehran, Iran — Senior Iranian officials rejected Trump’s framing of the confrontation and accused Washington of breaching the June 17 memorandum of understanding that underpins the interim ceasefire. Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of Iran’s parliamentary national security commission, wrote that the Strait of Hormuz is governed by Iran and warned the United States against "mistaking control for escalation," while Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to the supreme leader and former IRGC commander, said the United States violated the deal first by backing proxy forces in Lebanon. The IRGC said any future ceasefire violations would trigger a complete halt to diplomatic processes, putting at risk technical talks planned in Switzerland, even as IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi indicated he expected Iran to admit nuclear inspectors as part of the broader framework. Vice President JD Vance separately warned that any further violence would be met with violence.

Prepared by Lauren Mitchell and reviewed by editorial team.