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(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump signaled he’s prepared to let economic pressure on Iran build rather than launch fresh military strikes, saying the US was only “semi-negotiating” with Tehran on the Strait of Hormuz.
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“We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money,” Trump told Axios in an interview on Sunday, saying that a US naval blockade of the country was deepening its financial woes. “We are low keying it.”
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The president’s comments mark a shift from his repeated threats to escalate the bombing campaign against Iran and come amid lingering talks between the Islamic Republic and Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to maritime shipping. Tehran has said it’s nearing a deal on the waterway while laying out a long list of demands for Washington before shipping can resume, including the lifting of sanctions and an end to attacks on Iran-backed groups across the Middle East. Tehran also elevated a hard-line former commander to its top security post over the weekend.
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Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s military adviser Mohsen Rezaee, a former commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was named the new leader of the Supreme National Security Council, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported late Sunday. He replaces Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a fellow hard-liner who accepted a new position as political adviser to the supreme leader.
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Rezaee has been an advocate for full Iranian control over Hormuz. The council he’ll be heading is where Iran’s leaders coordinate decisions on the war and negotiations to end it.
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Over the weekend, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a pact with Oman to establish a shipping route through the strait was “very close,” without providing details on the substance. He ruled out direct talks with the US for now, citing what he described as repeated violations of a short-lived interim peace agreement signed in June, and adding that the two sides are exchanging messages through intermediaries.
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The Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transited before the war, has become a key factor in the war the US and Israel started on Feb. 28. Trump has demanded the resumption of open navigation for months.
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Oil was little changed on Monday, with global benchmark Brent crude trading at $83.61 after rally of more than 5% over the previous three sessions.
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Tehran on Saturday published a list of demands for Washington as conditions for fully reopening Hormuz, indicating any immediate respite for energy supplies may be limited. It wants the US to lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports, withdraw forces from around Iran, remove sanctions, release frozen assets and pay compensation for war damage.
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