'Desperation': Trump under fire for appearing to push back Iran deadline a third time

In a vague social media post on Sunday, President Donald Trump appeared to have extended his deadline for Iran to re-open the Strait of Hormuz by another day, prompting widespread ridicule from critics over what some described as the president’s “desperation.”

“Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, with no additional context.

And yet, despite the lack of details, journalists widely interpreted the post as setting a new deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to U.S.-aligned vessels, largely due to the president’s threats made earlier Sunday morning.

“The reason for his desperation is Iran is calling the bluff,” wrote journalist and professor Adam Cochran in a social media post on X. “He’s stuck between desperate military blunder, and weak looking TACO,” an acronym for “Trump Always Chickens Out.”

Trump first issued Iran a 48-hour deadline last month, vowing to target Iranian civilian infrastructure if Tehran did not re-open the Strait of Hormuz. The president extended the deadline by five days, and then again by another five days, with the new deadline landing on Monday.

On Saturday, Trump reaffirmed that Iran had until Monday morning to cave to his demand. That deadline now appears to have been extended a third time to Tuesday.

Earlier on Sunday in a curse-laden Easter message, Trump demanded that Tehran “open the F----- Strait,” while baffling onlookers for also writing “Praise be to Allah,” referencing the Arabic word for God.

“I get why some assume he'd TACO again. But at this point there is nothing else for him to do but bomb and leave,” wrote geopolitical commentator Ali Ahmadi in a social media post to their more than 11,000 followers on X.

“Iran won't surrender. He won't give an inch. There are no more military compulsion options. I think the military has talked him out of the crazy land invasion stuff.”