Trump threatens Iran on social media as Congress grills Hegseth on war

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Apr 29, 2026

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President Donald Trump threatened Iran in a predawn social media post Wednesday as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress the monthlong war has been a huge success and has cost taxpayers $25 billion so far.

Posting a fake image of himself carrying a machine gun with the caption “No more Mr. Nice Guy,” Trump suggested Iran’s leadership is divided over reaching an agreement with the U.S.

“Iran can’t get their act together. They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal,” Trump wrote in the 4:05 am post on his social media site. “They better get smart soon.”

Despite the saber rattling, Trump unilaterally extended a ceasefire with Tehran indefinitely and appears to have little appetite for resuming the attacks on Iran let alone sending American troops into the fray.

The Wall Street Journal reported Trump has instructed aides to prepare for a long blockade of Iran and the strategic Straits of Hormuz, which Iran has also closed in response to the U.S.-Israeli war that has stretched on for two months now.

Trump reportedly defended the blockade and rejected an Iranian offer to open the straits and continue the ceasefire while resuming nuclear talks.

“The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing,” Trump told Axios in a new interview. “And it is going to be worse for them.”

A continued extended blockade would likely exacerbate the global economic crisis caused by the conflict with Iran, which has effectively shut off 20% of the world’s oil supply that is normally transported through the waterway.

Oil prices jumped by about 5% at the news and gas prices for American consumers are sitting at four-year highs of more than $4 a gallon.

Market analysts, who previously shrugged off disruptions by using the acronym #TACO, or Trump Always Chickens Out, explained the jitters with a new hashtag: Not A Chance Hormuz Opens, or #NACHO.

It would also be potentially grim news for Trump’s Republican allies as they seek to hold onto Congress in the midterm elections with voters in an increasingly sour mood.

Hegseth faced questioning from lawmakers for the first time since the Trump administration went to war with Iran, a conflict that Democrats deride as a risky and costly war of choice with no clear aims or endgame.

He proclaimed the war a resounding success, even though he conceded Iran remains a threat.

Another Pentagon official put the price tag for the first month at $25 billion, but Hegseth refused to predict how much it might cost if fighting resumes or how long it could last.

“You have to stare down this kind of enemy who’s hell bent on getting a nuclear weapon and get them to the point where they’re at the table giving it up,”

The hearing before the House Armed Services Committee is officially focused on the administration’s 2027 military budget proposal, which would boost defense spending to a historic $1.5 trillion, including torrents of fresh cash for drones, missile defense systems and warships.

Democrats are sure to spotlight the ballooning costs of the war, huge drawdown of critical U.S. munitions and the mistaken bombing of a Iranian school that killed more than 150 children.

The U.S. and Israel launched the war Feb. 28 without congressional oversight. Republicans have rejected multiple war powers resolutions that would require Trump to halt the conflict until Congress authorizes further action.

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