Donald Trump said on Truth Social early on Saturday India time that his administration was considering "winding down" military operations in the Middle East, but the US President’s recent track record shows he has declared victory many times before already in the war on Iran.

His latest post came after another climb in oil plunged the US stock market.

"We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran," Trump wrote.

The Strait of Hormuz, he said, "will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not! If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn’t be necessary once Iran’s threat is eradicated.

"Importantly, it will be an easy Military Operation for them," he added.

That seemed at odds with his administration's move to bolster its firepower in the region and request another $200 billion from Congress to fund the war. The US is also deploying three more amphibious assault ships and roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the Middle East, an official told The Associated Press.

But that mixed messaging is not unusual. In the three weeks since Operation Epic Fury was launched on Iran, the President has declared at least seven times on Truth Social that the US has won, apart from displaying much braggadocio in media interviews.

On Sunday, he claimed that the US had “beaten and completely decimated Iran”.

Apart from the seven Truth Social announcements, derivations of Trump’s victory laps have been recorded almost every day in media conferences and television interviews.

Here is a day-by-day compilation of Trump’s victory statements that seem to intend to signal a swift and decisive end to war, and the contradictory reality of the intensifying momentum of conflict.

March 17 (Tuesday)

Just after making an appeal to Nato, Trump said: “We don’t need help. That war has been long prosecuted as far as I’m concerned, almost from day one.”

The same day, top US counterterrorism official Joe Kent resigned saying that he could not continue with his duty in good conscience and that Iran did nothing to start the war. This was the first and most senior resignation in the Trump administration over Iran.

March 16 (Monday)

At the Kennedy Center, Trump claimed that the US has “literally obliterated” Iran' s military capabilities.

He also posted on Truth Social: “The United States of America has beaten and completely decimated Iran, both Militarily, Economically, and in every other way.”

On the same day, Israel outlined its three-weeks-long war plan on Iran. Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani indicated that developments could extend the plan further, adding that Israel still has a thousands of targets left to hit before they would consider Iran decisively weakened.

March 15 (Sunday)

“We have already destroyed 100% of Iran’s Military capability”: Trump on Truth Social.

The same day, Reuters reported that he was demanding support from Nato in the Strait of Hormuz to send vessels, cajoling allies and even China to help out, warning them of a “very bad” future if they did not step in.

No one responded.

Earlier he said the US didn't need help from anybody because “we’re the strongest nation in the world.”

March 14 (Saturday)

Trump on Truth Social: “The Fake News Media hates to report how well the United States Military has done against Iran, which is totally defeated and wants a deal.”

And in another post of the same day, “ Iran had plans of taking over the entire Middle East, and completely obliterating Israel. JUST LIKE IRAN ITSELF, THOSE PLANS ARE NOW DEAD!”

Shortly after, in what was an early indication of a possible ground invasion, the US military deployed 2,500 marines to the Middle East.

March 13 (Friday)

Trump on Truth Social: “We are totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise, yet, if you read the Failing New York Times, you would incorrectly think that we are not winning.”

He then threatened to escalate the war further by striking Iran’s Kharg Island, an oil manufacturing hub. It was envisioned as a warning to get Iran to stop attacking vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The strike targeted 90 Iranian military sites.

Trump later called the attack on Kharg “one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East” which “obliterated every military target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island.”

March 12 (Thursday)

The Guardian reported that Trump said that the war in Iran was “very complete, pretty much.”

On the same day, the new Ayatollah, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued his first public statement declaring that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed, vowed to avenge those killed in the ongoing war and stated that Iran would continue to target US bases in the region.

Earlier in the day, Trump said that the US would benefit from Iran’s blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, and that Iran was “virtually destroyed.”

March 11 (Wednesday)

The US President said at a rally in Hebron, Kentucky, “You never like to say too early you won. In the first hour it was over…We don’t want to leave early…we’ve got to finish the job.”

The same day, satellite images showed that Iran missile strikes damaged at least 17 US sites across West Asia. The New York Times reported, “The intensity of the retaliatory strikes has signalled that Iran was more prepared for the war than many in the Trump administration had anticipated, US military officials said.”

Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran's military command, said in comments addressed to the United States: “Get ready for oil to be $200 a barrel, because the oil price depends on regional security which you ​have destabilised."

March 9 (Monday)

In a CBS News interview, Trump said: “we have already won in so many ways, but we haven’t won enough.”

Meanwhile, the US embassy in Baghdad was targeted as Iraq found itself dragged into the war’s orbit.

The New York Times reported that “there was no sign of an offramp of the fighting” as Iran and US both appeared to be intensifying attacks on critical infrastructure, with US attacking oil depots surrounding Tehran.

March 8 (Sunday)

"At some point, I don't think there will be anybody left to say 'We surrender'," Trump said after rejecting negotiations with Iran.

March 7 (Saturday)

Trump on Truth Social: “Iran, which is being beat to HELL, has apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors, and promised that it will not shoot at them anymore. This promise was only made because of the relentless U.S. and Israeli attack. They were looking to take over and rule the Middle East. It is the first time that Iran has ever lost, in thousands of years, to surrounding Middle Eastern Countries. They have said, “Thank you President Trump.” I have said, “You’re welcome!” Iran is no longer the “Bully of the Middle East,” they are, instead, “THE LOSER OF THE MIDDLE EAST,” and will be for many decades until they surrender or, more likely, completely collapse!”

February 28 to March 1

In the opening hours of Operation Epic Fury, Trump framed the conflict as a swift and overwhelming American victory. He claimed US forces had already “destroyed and sunk 9 Iranian naval ships” and “largely destroyed their naval headquarters,” adding that Iran itself had been “very much destroyed and, even, obliterated” within a single day.

He portrayed the killing of Ali Khamenei as “the single greatest chance” for Iranians to reclaim their country and suggested elements of Iran’s security forces were ready to defect.