Trump: ‘I can’t tell you’ whether war is winding down or escalating

President Donald Trump on Monday said he couldn’t know if the war with Iran was ending , or escalating, ahead of his Tuesday 8 p.m. EDT deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“I can’t tell you, I don’t know. I can’t tell you. Depends what they do,” Trump said when asked whether he is winding down the war, as he has previously suggested, or ramping up, referring to his threat to bomb bridges and power plants. “This is a critical period. They have a period of, well, until tomorrow at 8 o’clock.”

Trump’s stated uncertainty over the direction of the war provided a striking coda to a White House briefing room appearance with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine to mark the successful recovery of two U.S. airmen from deep within Iranian territory.

“They have ‘till tomorrow. Now, we’ll see what happens. I can tell you, they’re negotiating, we think, in good faith. We’re going to find out,” Trump said. “We’re getting the help of some incredible countries that want this to be ended because it affects them also. A lot of people are affected by this.”

He threatened again that if Iran doesn’t act, “they’re going to have no bridges, they’re going to have no power plants— stone ages yeah.”

He said he gave the Iranians an extension of 11 days after first offering seven days because “I thought it was inappropriate the day after Easter. I want to be a nice person.”