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WASHINGTON / DUBAI / TEHRAN: After months of US military strikes on Iran, sanctions and a blockade, President Donald Trump said on Sunday that his administration is watching economic pressure mount on Iran, according to an interview with Axios.
“We are low keying it,” Trump was quoted as saying during a brief phone call. “We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.”
Meanwhile, Iran said on Sunday that a deal with Oman defining new shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz was in its final stages but reiterated that the waterway would only reopen once the United States met other conditions.
Iran has effectively blockaded the crucial energy conduit since the US and Israel attacked it in late February, and wants to charge tolls for passage, striking ships it accuses of attempting to circumvent its preferred route.
