WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump suggested the United States is prepared to hold off on new military action against Iran to watch economic pressure on Tehran play out, an abrupt departure from his recent threats.
"We are low-keying it," Trump said in a phone interview with Axios on Sunday, Aug. 9, adding that talks on a deal to end the Iran war have slowed as well. "We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money."
Trump's position marks a major shift from Aug. 3, when the president warned he was giving Iran one final opportunity to agree to a peace deal or risk "decapitation." At the time, Trump said he decided to hold off on ordering what would have been "the biggest
attack since World War II" at the request of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The president's latest remarks came as Iran demanded the U.S. meet certain conditions to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, including compensation and halting sanctions, in talks between Tehran and Oman. The U.S. has not been a part of the Iran-Oman negotiations.
Trump often boasts that the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports has crippled the country economically. He told Axios Iran "is in very bad shape" as a result of the blockade.
Yet oil prices remain elevated as a result of the closure of the strait, a critical oil shipping route, which has kept gas prices in the U.S. at high levels. The average price nationally for a gallon of regular gas was slightly more than $4 on Aug. 10, according to AAA, compared to $2.98 when Trump started the war with airstrikes in late February.
Throughout the five-month conflict, Trump has touted efforts toward securing a peace deal that would address Iran's nuclear capability. But a memorandum of understanding reached between the two countries in June quickly fell apart, and there's been little evidence of progress toward an agreement since.
"It will work out. It always works out. It's like a chess game," Trump told Axios of the back-and-forth with Iran.
Contributing: Reuters
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says US 'low-keying it' with Iran and 'only semi-negotiating'
