US President Donald Trump confirmed that the United States will continue to impose a strict blockade on Iran, stressing that the maximum pressure policy will remain in place despite talk of Tehran suspending talks and exchanging messages with Washington.
In an interview with NBC, Trump described the blockade imposed on Iran as “like steel,” stressing that it will remain tight during the next phase, in a message that reflects the US administration’s adherence to the policy of economic and political pressure on Tehran.
Commenting on the reports that spoke of an Iranian decision to suspend the exchange of messages and talks with the United States, Trump said that he had not been informed in advance of this decision, considering that “it is appropriate for Iran to say that it is better at negotiating than fighting,” as he put it.
The US President added that Washington is capable of waiting for a long time, considering that Iran is the party that will bear the losses if the current stalemate continues.
At the same time, Trump made it clear that silence or a cessation of communications does not necessarily mean a return to the military option, saying that the United States does not intend to “drop bombs everywhere inside Iran,” but stressed that the blockade will remain in place.
Trump’s statements come hours after Iranian reports talked about stopping the exchange of messages with Washington in protest against the military developments in Lebanon and Gaza, in a new indication of the faltering negotiating path between the two sides.
The US-Iranian file is witnessing a very sensitive phase, in light of the continued US sanctions and economic blockade imposed on Tehran, in exchange for Iran’s adherence to its political and security conditions for resuming negotiations.
These positions also coincide with the escalation of tension in the Middle East, as the Iranian files overlap with developments in Lebanon, Gaza, and navigation security in the Gulf, which makes any faltering communications between Washington and Tehran an additional factor in increasing regional tension.
Observers believe that Trump’s statements reflect an American desire to maintain pressure on Iran without sliding into a direct military confrontation, while maintaining the sanctions and economic blockade as a main means of achieving Washington’s political and security goals.
