Trump says US ‘low-keying’ Iran conflict, giving economic pressure time to work

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Washington was “low-keying” its approach to Iran and only “semi-negotiating” with the Islamic Republic, as it suffers in dire economic straits.

The remarks, made in a brief phone interview with Barak Ravid of Channel 12 and Axios, signaled Trump was forgoing a military strike on Iran and instead preparing to let the mounting economic pressure take its toll.

Trump’s comments came after Iran on Saturday laid out drastic new conditions for lifting the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, which carried about one-fifth of the world’s commercial oil shipments until the US and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28.

A separate report on Sunday said Trump was preparing to declare victory in the war as long as the strait reopens, even without a deal to secure the end of Iran’s nuclear program. Meanwhile, Tehran doubled down on its demands, and denied holding any direct talks with the US.

Iran’s new demands stymied mediators’ hopes last week that Iran, Oman, and the US would announce a deal to reopen the key waterway, Ravid reported. Trump himself had threatened massive military strikes on Iran only to backtrack at the start of last week, citing a breakthrough in talks.

Nonetheless, according to Ravid, Trump in the phone interview did not threaten Iran or rail against it for holding up the deal, which would give Iran unprecedented control over maritime traffic in the strait.

Speaking to Ravid, Trump said, “We are low-keying it,” in the talks with Tehran.

“We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money,” he said. “It will work out. It always works out. It’s like a chess game.”

Trump claimed Iran’s regime was “in very bad shape” financially, with insufficient funds to pay soldiers, and that the US naval blockade on Iran-linked shipping made the Islamic Republic’s economic crisis even worse, according to Ravid.

On the other hand, Trump noted that oil prices, which hiked to over $100 a barrel after Iran shut Hormuz early in the war, have since dropped to about $75, easing the weight of the war on US consumers.

US officials cited in the report said Trump had been convinced since last week to de-escalate the war, with one official saying the halt in the fighting forces Iran to confront its domestic economic crisis.

As has been reported elsewhere, the officials cited disagreements within Iran between a camp led by President Masoud Pezeshkian, which supports a deal to avoid economic collapse, and a camp led by Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Ahmad Vahidi, which opposes concessions to the US.

Both sides claim the support of Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since reportedly being wounded in the strike that killed his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, at the start of the war.

On Sunday, Mojtaba Khamenei’s office claimed he recently met with Pezeshkian “at the start of his third year in the presidency” and the two “discussed in detail the country’s issues and problems,” including the “current military situation and future prospects.”

Pezeshkian, who took office in July 2024, had said in early May that he met with Khamenei, also without specifying the date, but the supreme leader’s office did not issue any statements at the time.

The president had said on Wednesday that communication with Khamenei was “very difficult at the moment,” amid speculation about the supreme leader’s health.

Mojtaba Khamenei has remained in hiding since becoming supreme leader after his father’s death. To avoid being targeted, he reportedly communicates with other senior regime figures via a slow array of intermediaries. Khamenei has produced no recordings, though Iranian state media has published written statements attributed to him.

On Sunday, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency cited an IRGC general as saying images of Khamenei among people and in meetings would be published “in the future.” The general did not offer a timeline.

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