President Donald Trump warned of renewed military action against Iran, saying U.S. forces will remain deployed "in and around" the region if a ceasefire agreement is not fully complied with.

Late on Wednesday, Trump stated in his Truth Social post that "the ‘Shootin' Starts'" if terms are breached, reiterating a hardline stance on preventing nuclear weapons and ensuring the Strait of Hormuz remains open.

“If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the "Shootin' Starts," bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before. It was agreed, a long time ago, and despite all of the fake rhetoric to the contrary – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS and, the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE,” he wrote in his post.

Ceasefire Under Strain

The warning comes as a fragile two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire, announced on Tuesday and met with mixed reactions domestically and abroad, faces pressure from Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon on Wednesday.

According to the Lebanese Civil Defense, strikes across the country have killed at least 254 people and injured 1,165 others.

Israel's escalation of the conflict in the Middle East follows the posting by Israel's Prime Minister's Office on X, which backed the truce but said Lebanon remains outside the agreement.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, speaking with reporters in her Wednesday conference, also stated Lebanon is not part of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

“Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire. That has been relayed to all parties involved.”

Following the renewed escalation, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged all parties to respect the ceasefire and exercise restraint.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the strikes, expressed solidarity with Lebanon and warned the attacks threaten the sustainability of the ceasefire, stressing Lebanon must be included in any long-term peace deal.

Political Tensions

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammed Bager Qalibaf, said Wednesday that in the current situation, a bilateral ceasefire or negotiations were "unreasonable."

Trump also criticized NATO on Wednesday, saying allies "failed" to support the U.S. during the Iran conflict and questioned alliance reliability, signaling potential strain with European partners.

How Markets Reacted To Ceasefire

U.S. markets surged on Wednesday following the ceasefire, reflecting cautious investor optimism.

  • SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY), which represents large-cap U.S. companies, gained 2.55%.
  • SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA), which represents 30 major blue-chip U.S. companies, gained 2.85%.
  • Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (NASDAQ:QQQ), which represents the tech-heavy NASDAQ-100 index, gained 2.97%.
  • iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM), which represents 2,000 small-cap U.S. companies, gained 2.99%.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.