Trump says US ‘low keying it’ with Iran as economic warfare replaces airstrikes

Trump signals shift away from military threats in favor of greater reliance on sanctions and blockade.

By World Israel News Staff 

President Donald Trump signaled Sunday that he is prepared to let mounting economic pressure bear down on Iran instead of immediately launching another large-scale military offensive, even as negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz remain deadlocked.

“We are low keying it,” Trump said during a brief telephone interview with Axios.

“We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.”

Trump described Iran as being “in very bad shape” and said its government lacked sufficient funds to pay its forces.

He credited the US naval blockade of Iranian ports with worsening Tehran’s financial crisis and argued that lower oil prices had reduced the economic burden of the conflict on American consumers.

Oil prices rose when markets reopened Monday, however, as doubts increased over whether the Strait of Hormuz would reopen soon. Brent crude climbed to $84.79 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate reached $79.29, according to Reuters.

Trump’s restrained tone marked a shift from his recent threats to resume major attacks on Iran.

On August 1, he announced that he had canceled a planned offensive after Iran and several Middle Eastern governments requested additional time to reach an agreement covering Tehran’s nuclear program and the strait.

The suspension was conditional on the sides rapidly reaching a deal, Trump said at the time.

Iran subsequently denied that formal negotiations with Washington were taking place, although both governments have acknowledged exchanging messages through intermediaries.

At the center of the dispute is an Iranian-Omani agreement intended to establish new shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Sunday that the arrangement was in its “final stages,” but stressed that completing it would not automatically reopen the strategic waterway.

Araqchi said Tehran would not enter direct negotiations with Washington while the US continued what Iran considers violations of a June interim agreement.

Messages were still being passed through mediators, he said. Reuters reported that Washington has tied the lifting of its blockade to Iran first fulfilling its maritime commitments.

Iran further complicated the talks Saturday by issuing an extensive list of conditions for fully reopening the strait.

Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, demanded that Washington “never, and in no language, threaten Iran or insult the sanctities of this nation.”

Zolghadr also called for a permanent end to attacks on Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen and Iraq; the removal of US naval and air forces surrounding Iran; full compensation for wartime damage; the lifting of sanctions; and the unconditional release of frozen Iranian assets.

Reuters reported that Iran is now presenting demands previously associated with a comprehensive nuclear settlement as conditions merely for reopening the strait.

The conflict began on February 28 with joint US-Israeli strikes against Iranian military, nuclear, government and infrastructure targets.

Iran responded by severely restricting shipping through Hormuz, which handled roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war.

Vice President JD Vance cautioned Saturday that Washington had not ruled out other methods of pressuring Tehran.

“This thing is not over,” Vance told Fox News. “We’re in the middle of the game.”

Vance said the administration was combining diplomatic, economic and military pressure while attempting to increase the volume of oil and gas moving through the strait.

He also said Iran had informed Washington that it did not intend to impose tolls on passing ships, although he emphasized that the US would judge Tehran by its actions.

Trump nevertheless expressed confidence that the confrontation would ultimately be resolved.

“It will work out. It always works out. It’s like a chess game,” he said.

Donald TrumpIranIran war