US President Donald Trump has signalled that his administration is easing off the prospect of further military strikes against Iran, saying Washington is instead allowing economic pressure on Tehran to build as negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz remain stalled.
“We are low-keying it,” Trump told Axios on Sunday, according to the news outlet.
The comments mark a notable shift in tone after Trump repeatedly threatened to launch additional attacks on Iran over the past week.
The US President has increasingly focused on securing an agreement that would end the conflict and restore shipping through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
Trump says US is ‘semi-negotiating’ with Iran
Trump said Washington was not engaged in full-fledged negotiations with Tehran but was maintaining indirect engagement.
“We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money,” he was quoted as saying by Axios.
Trump appeared to suggest that worsening economic conditions inside Iran could strengthen the US position without requiring another round of military action.
Trump points to falling oil prices
Trump also appeared to argue that falling oil prices were reducing the economic pressure on American consumers caused by the conflict.
“Oil prices are falling, so the American consumer is feeling less pain from the war,” he said, according to Axios.
The President has faced increasing economic and political pressure as the conflict disrupts energy markets, with the US midterm elections scheduled for November.
‘It will work out,’ Trump says
Despite the lack of a final agreement with Tehran, Trump struck an optimistic tone about the US strategy.
“It will work out. It always works out. It’s like a chess game,” he said.
His comments come as Iran has resisted reopening the Strait of Hormuz without securing concessions from Washington.
Iran links Hormuz reopening to US concessions
Iran has demanded that the US lift its blockade of Iranian ports and remove oil sanctions as part of any arrangement to restore commercial shipping through the waterway.
The two countries had signed a memorandum of understanding in June that laid out a framework for resolving the dispute, but tensions have continued to prevent a full reopening of the strait.
Iran has also demanded compensation for wartime damage and an end to US military pressure and sanctions.
The demands include an end to the war, the lifting of the US counterblockade on Iranian ports, removal of sanctions, the release of frozen Iranian assets and compensation for damage caused during the conflict.
The conditions echo provisions included in a June memorandum that established a framework for resolving the conflict. That agreement also included a proposal for a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran.
The Revolutionary Guards doubled down on the position on Sunday, saying the waterway would remain closed until Washington accepted Tehran’s demands.
“Our strategy is to maintain the closure until the enemy accepts all our conditions,” the Guards said, describing the strait as “a theatre of war for us and not just a waterway”.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical global energy corridor, and its prolonged disruption has contributed to higher fuel prices and increased concerns about the impact on the global economy.
