New Delhi:
US President Donald Trump issued a veiled threat, calling the lack of military action in the Middle East “calm before the storm”, amid reports of discussions with his top aides on resuming air strikes on Iran.
In an AI-generated image shared on his social media, Trump can be seen wearing a Make America Great Again hat, with a US Navy Admiral standing by his side. The image shows the two in the middle of choppy waters and lightning, while on board a US Navy ship with Iranian ships in the background.
“It was the calm before the storm” – the message shared with the image can be seen as a warning to Iran as the New York Times claimed Trump is about to take a critical decision on Iran, with his top aides making plans to resume air strikes if he chooses to break the diplomatic deadlock through military force.
New media post from Donald J. Trump
( TruthSocial: May 16 2026, 4:03 PM ET ) pic.twitter.com/dgXKB5ZeTJ
— Donald J Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) May 16, 2026
The image was shared by Trump at a time the fragile April 8 ceasefire remains in place in the Middle East, but tensions over critical marine chokepoint Strait of Hormuz show no signs of abatement, causing Trump to engage in a flurry of meetings with world leaders.
Trump has also warned of a “very bad time” for Iran if a peace deal is not reached soon. “They have an interest in reaching an agreement,” Trump told French broadcaster BFMTV in a telephone interview. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday his government received messages from the Trump administration indicating a willingness for new talks, but cautioned of “distrust” over Washington’s true intentions remains.
Though a ceasefire was reached last month, a permanent peace agreement remains a far-away goal, as the US and Iran continued attacks on each other during this period. In the Gulf, the US maintained a deployment of some of its major warships, though the world’s largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford returned home after an 11-month deployment, the longest since the 1955-75 Vietnam war.
Photo Credit: White House/X
Negotiations mediated by Pakistan last month reached a stalemate as the two sides could not reach a consensus on Iran’s nuclear ambitions and control over Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil passes. Trump discussed the issue with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, who will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin early next week. China remains a key strategic partner for Tehran and relies heavily on energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Concluding the China visit, Trump said aboard Air Force One that US controls the Strait of Hormuz, while emphasising Iran has been hit with 500 million dollars of loss per day in the past two and half weeks due to US’ naval blockade in the region.
The attempt to broker a compromise that would bring peace to the Middle East and reopen the Strait of Hormuz has turned into an effort involving several nations, with Pakistan’s interior minister arriving in Tehran on Saturday “to facilitate” talks. The visit by Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi came days after that of the country’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Iran’s chief negotiator and speaker of parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned on Tuesday that other than accepting Tehran’s 14-point proposal for peace, any other approach will be “completely inconclusive”. Iran also announced a “professional mechanism” to manage traffic in the Strait of Hormuz along a designated route. Ebrahim Azizi, Chairman of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, wrote on X that the route will “remain closed” to the operators of the ‘Project Freedom’. “In this process, only commercial vessels and parties cooperating with Iran will benefit from it,” he said, adding that a “necessary fees will be collected for the specialised services provided under this mechanism.”
