Trump opts for economic pressure over strikes as Iran's Guards vow to keep Strait of Hormuz closed

Trump's measured tone

On Sunday 9 August 2026, President Donald Trump indicated he was prepared to let economic pressure intensify against Iran, appearing to step back from ordering new military strikes. In a brief phone exchange with the online outlet Axios, Trump adopted an unusually measured tone, noting that the Iranian economy was "in very bad shape" with galloping inflation and no money left. He formulated no new threats of strikes, a shift from just a week earlier when he had launched the latest in a series of threats to hit Iran hard before reversing course and saying he hoped for a quick deal on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

We're staying quiet. We're only semi-negotiating with them. We're just watching Iran, with its galloping inflation and the fact that it has no more money.

Trump told Axios that the United States has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports since July, which he said is aggravating the economic crisis in Iran. He also raised the risk that Iran would no longer be able to pay its troops. He expressed confidence that the standoff would resolve itself without new military action.

It'll work out. It always works out. It's like a chess game.

Iran's conditions

The Revolutionary Guards insisted on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until Washington accepts "all" the conditions set by Tehran, dimming hopes for a rapid settlement of the conflict. The powerful corps described the strait as "a theatre of war and no longer just a maritime route," according to Agence France-Presse. The strait is a vital passage for global hydrocarbon trade.

Our current strategy is to keep this strait closed until the enemy accepts all our conditions.

The conditions listed by Tehran on Saturday include: the United States must permanently end the war and aggression against Iran and its allies, including in Yemen and Iraq; lift the blockade of Iranian ports; fully compensate Iran for damages caused by the hostilities; lift sanctions against the economy; and unblock frozen Iranian assets without conditions. Many of these provisions were already part of the Iran-US agreement signed in June, which was supposed to open the way to a broader settlement.

Priority shift and contradictory signals

The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz has become Trump's number one priority, far ahead of the nuclear and Iranian missile issues that were cited in late February to justify the Israeli-American offensive. In recent days, Trump had repeatedly promised that negotiations were progressing well and that the strait's reopening was imminent. The strait is a vital passage for global hydrocarbon trade.

The gap between Trump's optimism and Tehran's firm stance has widened. While the president minimised Iran's demands in his Axios interview, the Revolutionary Guards' statement on Sunday reinforced the position that no partial concessions would suffice. Trump has multiplied contradictory declarations throughout the conflict, alternating between threats of force and expressions of confidence in a diplomatic outcome. His approach now centers on observing Iran's economic deterioration under the port blockade and sanctions, without issuing new military threats.