Trump weighs economic pressure, military escalation as Iran talks continue

U.S. President Donald Trump accused Iran of being "devious negotiators" in an interview released late Monday and outlined two options in the war, "just bop along" and allow Tehran to fail economically, or hit them "really, really hard."

"I'm sort of negotiating," Trump told Real America's Voice in a phone interview. "They're ⁠very ⁠devious negotiators."

Since the conflict began in late February, Trump has repeatedly shifted between threats of escalation and claims that a peace deal is imminent. Pakistan said on Tuesday that the U.S. and Iran were close to "some sort" of deal, while Qatar said talks on managing the Strait of Hormuz were at an advanced stage, despite reports of new attacks on shipping in regional waters.


Trump described one possible strategy as: "Do what I'm doing now: just ⁠bop along and look how bad they're doing."

"Economically, ​they are a mess. They can't borrow money. ​We control their money, what they had, which is a lot. They had a lot, and we have total control of it. I'm their banker," he said, referring to frozen Iranian assets.

Another option would be to "Hit them really, really hard," Trump said.

Trump also shrugged off concerns over low munitions, saying the U.S. was "building them like crazy" and blamed his predecessor, former U.S. President ⁠Joe Biden.

Reuters reported last week that the U.S. Army has used up much of its stockpile of highly accurate long-range missiles during the war, raising concerns about the military's readiness for future conflicts.

"We're fine with munitions... But the reason it would be lower, and we're building them like crazy, but the reason it's low is because he (Biden) gave $300 billion worth to Ukraine," Trump said.

(With Reuters inputs)