US President Donald Trump has suggested that he is willing to let economic strain on Iran do the work of forcing concessions, rather than resuming direct military strikes. The remarks came as Tehran remains defiant, Trump told Axios in a phone interview on Sunday. Describing Washington's current approach, Trump said, "We are low keying it," and added that talks with Tehran remained at an early stage, calling it "only semi-negotiating," while Iran grapples with soaring inflation and depleted state finances.
He argued that the naval blockade imposed by US forces had worsened Iran's economic troubles to the point that the regime "is in very bad shape" and can no longer pay its own troops.
On the domestic front, Trump pointed out that oil prices sitting just above $75 a barrel meant ordinary Americans were largely insulated from the fallout of the conflict.
He characterised the standoff as a long game, telling the outlet, "It will work out. It always works out. It's like a chess game."
His comments follow days of uncertainty over a proposed arrangement to govern shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, brokered between Iran, Oman and the United States, under which Tehran would gain partial oversight of strait traffic for the first time since fighting broke out.
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Mediators from Qatar and Pakistan had expected the pact to be finalised by Wednesday, but reportedly that momentum has since stalled, with American officials pointing to a widening rift inside Iran's leadership — President Masoud Pezeshkian favouring compromise to avert economic collapse, against hardline resistance from IRGC chief Ahmad Vahidi.
Adding to the impasse, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who heads Iran's Supreme National Security Council, issued a fresh set of conditions on Saturday for reopening the strait beyond what Oman had already negotiated, insisting Washington must never "threaten nor insult Iran."
Moreover, Trump had nearly ordered a return to full-scale combat operations against Iran roughly a week earlier before being talked into holding off.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance, speaking to Fox News on Saturday, said Washington was still deploying "diplomatic, economic, military tools" to reach the best possible outcome, adding, "This thing is not over."
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