Trump says US 'low-keying' Iran conflict, giving economic pressure time to work

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Washington was "low-keying" its approach to Iran and only "semi-negotiating" with the Islamic Republic, as it suffers in dire economic straits. The remarks, made in a brief phone interview with Barak Ravid of Channel 12 and Axios, signaled Trump was forgoing a military strike on Iran and instead preparing to let the mounting economic pressure take its toll. Trump's comments came after Iran on Saturday laid out drastic new conditions for lifting the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, which carried about one-fifth of the world's commercial oil shipments until the US and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28. Speaking to Ravid, Trump said, "We are low-keying it," in the talks with Tehran. "We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money," he said. "It will work out. It always works out. It's like a chess game." Trump claimed Iran's regime was "in very bad shape" financially, with insufficient funds to pay soldiers, and that the US naval blockade on Iran-linked shipping made the Islamic Republic's economic crisis even worse, according to Ravid. On the other hand, Trump noted that oil prices, which hiked to over $100 a barrel after Iran shut Hormuz early in the war, have since dropped to about $75, easing the weight of the war on US consumers. US officials cited in the report said Trump had been convinced since last week to de-escalate the war, with one official saying the halt in the fighting forces Iran to confront its domestic economic crisis. As has been reported elsewhere, the officials cited disagreements within Iran between a camp led by President Masoud Pezeshkian, which supports a deal to avoid economic collapse, and a camp led by Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Ahmad Vahidi, which opposes concessions to the US. Both sides claim the support of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since reportedly being wounded in the strike that killed his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, at the start of the war.