Iran not yet ready to make the 'right deal,' Trump says

WASHINGTON- US President Donald Trump said on Friday, August 21, he thought Tehran was not ready to make the "right deal" and that Washington was observing "what happens" in the Iran war.

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"It just means that we're seeing what happens," Trump told reporters when asked if US military options with Iran were limited.

Washington pledged this week to impose the toughest financial penalties in history with the aim of toppling the Iranian leadership.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would give details on Monday of the planned sanctions after Trump warned of economic consequences against any country that provided "any type of lifeline to Iran."

"We have total control of that entire region having to do with the Strait of Hormuz, and that means well into it, the land areas. So, they would love to make a deal, but they're not ready to make the right deal, in my opinion," Trump said on Friday.

Before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, the Strait of Hormuz handled about a fifth of global oil and LNG supplies.

As the war approaches the six-month mark, disruptions to energy flows through the waterway continue as Iran has maintained enough missile and drone capability to impede oil tanker traffic in the strait.

⁠Tehran responded to the war's initial attacks ​with strikes on Israel and Gulf ​states with U.S. bases. U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands ​and displaced millions.

Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Ismail Shakil; Editing by William Mallard/Reuters