‘Bye Bye, Drones’: Trump flooded Truth Social with Iran memes hours after Rubio confirmed the two sides were still shooting at each other

President Donald Trump posted a series of memes on Truth Social, mocking Iran’s military just hours after it became clear that fighting was still happening in the Strait of Hormuz. The posts went up at 4:23 PM on Saturday and also took shots at former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama.

According to Mediaite, one image Trump shared showed what he called Iranian drones “Dropping Like Butterflies” into the ocean, with a split screen showing a butterfly falling on one side and a drone crashing into water on the other. 

This was followed by an apparent AI-generated image of a US battleship shooting down five drones mid-air, captioned “Bye Bye, Drones.” The final post showed 159 Iranian ships sailing, contrasted with those same ships destroyed and sitting at the bottom of the sea.

Rubio’s blunt explanation makes clear the ceasefire is hanging by a thread

These posts came after a week of heavy military activity in the Strait of Hormuz, where the US military shot down Iranian missiles and drones targeting Navy-escorted ships. Trump had also launched “Project Freedom,” a plan to guide vessels through the waterway. The strait is a major global chokepoint, with around 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passing through it, and disruptions have already pushed energy prices higher.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to reporters on Friday, one day after both sides exchanged fire, and made it clear the conflict was still very much active. When asked about the ceasefire’s stability, he pointed to Iran’s lack of cooperation. “What you saw yesterday was US destroyers moving through international waters, being fired upon by the Iranians, and the US responded defensively to protect itself,” Rubio said.

He went on to explain, “If you fire a drone or a missile at our destroyer, what are we supposed to do, let it hit? We have to respond to it. We have to knock down the missile, and we have to knock out whatever it is that launched that missile. The alternative is to let it sink one of our ships. That’s crazy. So, of course, we responded to it.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the US of choosing a “reckless military adventure” whenever a “diplomatic solution is on the table.” According to the BBC, he posted on social media that Iranians would “never bow to pressure.” Despite the ongoing clashes, Trump has maintained that the ceasefire is still in place, with the agreement intended to set the stage for talks to end the war that the US and Israel started in February. 

Reports have also raised questions about whether Iran had nuclear weapons before the war began. The US is also enforcing a naval blockade on Iranian ports. On Friday, US Central Command said forces had disabled two Iranian-flagged oil tankers that tried to enter a port on the Gulf of Oman in violation of the blockade, firing precision munitions into the ships’ smokestacks to stop them.

Reports indicate that more than 70 tankers are currently being prevented from entering or leaving Iranian ports. Trump addressed the recent clashes directly on Truth Social, confirming that the US had destroyed multiple small boats, missiles, and drones.

He warned, “Just like we knocked them out again today, we’ll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don’t get their Deal signed, FAST!” The war has also taken a domestic toll, with gas prices rising as the Iran conflict drags on. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance met with Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in Washington on Friday to discuss mediation, and the US plans to host broader security talks on May 14 and 15.