‘Iran has no money’ – Trump

President Trump slams Tehran’s “51 years of bad behavior,” cites worsening Iranian inflation as sign of the Islamic Republic’s impending economic collapse.

By World Israel News Staff

President Donald Trump took aim at Iran’s deepening economic crisis Sunday, declaring that Tehran was paying the price for decades of misconduct as his administration signaled it may allow financial pressure to build rather than immediately launch another major military offensive.

“51 years of bad behaviour!” Trump wrote on Truth Social alongside a graphic illustrating the Iranian rial’s dramatic fall in value.

The image carried the declarations “Iran has NO MONEY” and “Currency is Trash.”

The timeline cited by Trump was unusual: counting back 51 years from 2026 reaches 1975, four years before the 1979 Islamic Revolution overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and established the Islamic Republic whose policies Washington has spent decades confronting.

Trump did not explain why he chose the 51-year figure.

The president’s post came the same day he told Axios that Washington was deliberately taking a less aggressive posture toward Tehran for the moment, betting that sanctions, the US naval blockade and Iran’s severe domestic economic problems will increase pressure on its leadership.

“We are low-keying it,” Trump said.

“We are only semi-negotiating with them,” he added.

Trump portrayed the deterioration of Iran’s economy as a source of US leverage and said Tehran was in severe financial trouble.

He also suggested there was no immediate need to rush toward another round of large-scale military action after coming close to approving renewed combat operations roughly a week earlier, according to Axios.

The Iranian rial is trading at roughly 1.86 million to the US dollar on the open market, while Iranians are simultaneously confronting steep increases in the costs of food, housing and healthcare.

Recent Iranian data cited by Iran International showed prices for beef, lamb and chicken running around 149% higher in July than a year earlier, with dairy prices up roughly 147%.

The economic strain has become a central component of the Trump administration’s strategy as Washington tries to force Tehran into concessions over the Strait of Hormuz and other outstanding disputes.

Trump indicated Sunday that he was prepared to see how far that pressure could go before escalating militarily again.

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

The comments came as efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz appeared to have reached another difficult stage.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Tehran and Oman were in the “final stages” of negotiating an arrangement establishing new shipping lanes through the strategic waterway. Before Iran restricted the strait, roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments passed through it.

But Iran has made clear that an agreement over shipping lanes alone will not automatically reopen the strait.

Tehran is demanding that Washington compensate Iran for damage caused by US attacks, lift sanctions, release frozen Iranian assets, remove its naval blockade and end military threats against Iran. Iranian officials have also demanded an end to attacks against Iran’s regional allies and the withdrawal of US military forces from areas surrounding the country.

Iran says it is not holding direct negotiations with Washington, although Araghchi acknowledged that messages are passing between the two countries through intermediaries. Tehran argues that the US violated an interim agreement reached in June when Washington reimposed its naval blockade on Iranian shipping in July.

A US official, meanwhile, told Reuters that Washington would remove the blockade once an agreement restoring unrestricted commercial shipping was announced, but stressed that US steps would depend on Iran carrying out its commitments.

The dispute has complicated what only days ago appeared to be progress toward an arrangement.

An agreement governing traffic through Hormuz had been negotiated among Iran, Oman and the US and was awaiting final approval, Axios reported.

Under the proposed system, Tehran would receive a role in controlling traffic entering the Gulf — a concession Iran did not possess before the war. Qatari and Pakistani mediators had expected an announcement last week before Iranian officials introduced additional conditions.

Trump’s latest rhetoric suggests that the White House increasingly sees Iran’s economy as a weapon that may accomplish objectives that further strikes might not.

US officials told Axios that Trump had been leaning toward restarting major combat operations approximately a week earlier before being persuaded to hold off.