Trump's Two Options for Iran: Let the Economy Crumble or Strike
US President Donald Trump has accused Iran of being ‘cunning negotiators’ and laid out two remaining options for Tehran, as diplomatic efforts have yet to produce concrete results.
Trump said the two options were either to accept the situation as it is and allow Tehran to collapse economically, or to strike the country ‘very hard’.
‘I guess you could say I’m negotiating,’ Trump said during a telephone interview with Real America’s Voice, as reported by Reuters on Wednesday (12/8/2026).
‘They (Iran) are very cunning negotiators,’ he alleged.
Since war broke out at the end of February, Trump’s stance has repeatedly shifted between issuing threats of escalation and claiming a peace deal is imminent.
Pakistan, one of the mediators, said on Tuesday (11/8) that the US and Iran were close to reaching ‘some kind’ of agreement. Qatar, also acting as a mediator, said talks on the management of the Strait of Hormuz had reached an advanced stage, despite reports of fresh attacks on vessels in the strategic waterway.
In his latest interview, Trump described one possible strategy as follows: ‘Doing what I’m doing right now: just ride out the situation and see how bad their condition gets.’
‘Economically, they (Iran) are in disarray. They can’t borrow money. We control their money, the assets they hold, which are enormous. They have a lot, and we have total control over it. I am their banker,’ the US President said, referring to frozen Iranian assets.
The other option, Trump said, is: ‘Hit them very, very hard.’
In the interview, Trump again dismissed concerns about dwindling US ammunition supplies. He said the US was ‘producing it on a massive scale’, and blamed his predecessor, former US President Joe Biden.
Reuters reported last week that the US military had used up most of its supply of high-precision long-range missiles during the war with Iran. This has raised concerns about US military readiness for future conflicts.
‘Our ammunition supply is secure… But the reason the numbers are lower, even though we are producing it like crazy, is because he (Biden) gave US$300 billion in aid to Ukraine,’ Trump said in the interview.