US President Donald Trump appeared to back off threats of immediate military action against Iran, despite ongoing disputes with Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting he would allow economic pressure to force the Islamic republic to make a long-elusive peace deal.“We are low-keying it," Trump told news outlet Axios in a brief phone conversation on August 9, using a term generally referring to restrained action."We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money," he was quoted as saying. Axios added that Trump did not make any further military threats during the interview.
US President Donald Trump walks out of the clubhouse during a golf tournament at his National Bedminster club in New Jersey on August 9.
Trump said Iran is “in very bad shape” economically, with no money to pay its troops, and that the US naval blockade has intensified the economic crisis being endured by the country’s government.According to Axios, he said that, with oil prices falling from recent highs, the American people are feeling less pain from the war -- which, according to many polls, remains highly unpopular with the US public."It will work out. It always works out. It's like a chess game," Trump said of the off-and-on negotiating process with the regime in Tehran.Since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, Trump has toggled between threats of massive military strikes and a potential long-term peace deal. He has often insisted that a permanent peace agreement was imminent, only to have Tehran deny such progress, leading to tit-for-tat attacks by both sides.'Locked And Loaded'On August 1, Trump said he had decided to "hold off" on any new attacks on Iran, saying a deal with Tehran was near.
