“They want a deal. Badly,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after the NATO summit. He quickly added: “I just don’t know if they’re worthy of making a deal. I don’t know that they’re going to honor the deal. That’s the problem.” Iran, he said, “has very little left” after recent U.S. military action, yet he questioned whether more talks would produce a durable outcome.
The comments come during a shaky ceasefire and a return of fighting. In mid-June, Washington and Tehran signed an interim memorandum of understanding remotely. The MOU was meant to stop combat on several fronts, including Lebanon, reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping without restriction, and create space for wider nuclear talks. Trump at first called the pact an important move toward calmer conditions in the region.
Problems appeared almost immediately. Iran has been accused of limiting access for some ships and routes under the influence of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Attacks on tankers in the strait led to U.S. strikes. In recent days, U.S. Central Command said American forces hit more than 80 Iranian targets, including coastal radar, anti-ship missiles, command systems, and IRGC fast-attack boats. Iran answered with strikes on sites linked to the United States in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Tanker traffic through the strait, which carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil, has been badly disrupted. Many vessels have turned around or taken longer routes because of the danger.
The pattern is familiar. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, U.S.-Iran relations have swung between confrontation, sanctions, limited talks, and charges that Tehran backs proxy groups across the Middle East. Critics of earlier deals, including the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that Trump left in 2018, say such pacts only bought Iran time to expand its nuclear program and regional reach. Supporters of diplomacy argue that verified, sustained engagement is still the most realistic way to limit nuclear progress without a larger war.
The current administration has treated military pressure as a way to extract concessions, pointing to Iran’s weakened position after the latest strikes. Trump has previously said the United States could “knock down their bridges” and “knock out their energy supply.” Iranian officials have dismissed threats, insisted on sovereignty over the strait, and said they are open to talks only on terms they accept.
U.S. officials say they remain willing to pursue a “great and meaningful” final agreement, but only if Iran shows verifiable steps on its nuclear program, safe shipping, and de-escalation. Analysts caution that another round of strikes followed by a pause could lock in instability in a region that still matters greatly to global energy markets.
Whether the latest outreach leads to serious negotiations or another breakdown will depend on whether either side believes the other will keep its word.
