Trump sees blockade extension as best option for forcing Iran back to the negotiating table

By Alayna Treene, Kevin Liptak, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump has told his top advisers in recent days he wants the US naval blockade of Iranian ports to continue, sources familiar with the talks said, and his team has begun laying the groundwork for such an extension, including a longer-term closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The president, for now, is digging into a strategy designed to inflict as much economic pain on Iran as possible in the hopes of forcing Tehran back to the negotiating table without having to resume military strikes, the sources said.

But the strategy for dealing with a war that has now stretched into its ninth week is not without risk for Trump, who once predicted the conflict would last no longer than six weeks.

The strait’s closure has driven up gas prices, contributing to Americans’ weariness of the ongoing war and sending Trump’s approval ratings, especially on his handling of the economy, to new lows. And the cost of the conflict is adding up — a senior Pentagon official told lawmakers Wednesday the US has spent $25 billion on the Iran war so far. All of that is feeding GOP anxiety about the party’s prospects in November elections.

Nor is it clear this strategy will work — Iran has previously demonstrated an ability to withstand debilitating economic pain without capitulating to American demands.

Still, Trump appears intent on tightening the grip on Iran’s economy until Tehran concedes to his red lines on nuclear enrichment, believing, in his words, the US holds “all the cards.”

“The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing. They are choking like a stuffed pig. And it is going to be worse for them. They can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told Axios in a phone interview Wednesday.

Later, in the Oval Office, he seemed to hint the US was ready for a long haul, telling CNN’s Kaitlan Collins the Iran war could end “on a similar timetable” as the war in Ukraine – a more than four-year conflict that shows no signs of abating anytime soon.

American officials have reviewed intelligence suggesting Iran’s economy can only survive for another few weeks, if not days, before the strain of the blockade forces its collapse, two people familiar with the talks said, pointing to Tehran’s struggles to store unsold oil.

Trump has suggested it won’t take long for the excess oil to cause permanent damage to Iran’s energy infrastructure.

“What happens is, that line explodes from within, both mechanically and in the earth,” he said Sunday on Fox News. “Something happens where it just explodes. They say they only have about three days left before that happens. And when it explodes, you can never rebuild it the way it was.”

The US has intercepted or redirected nearly 40 ships attempting to enter or exit Iranian ports since the blockade began earlier this month. Trump is betting such pressure will serve as enough leverage for diplomacy to prevail, the sources familiar said.

“Iran has just informed us that they are in a ‘State of Collapse,’” Trump posted to social media on Tuesday. “They want us to ‘Open the Hormuz Strait,’ as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation.”

The same day, Trump met with energy executives, where they discussed measures that could be taken to continue the blockade for months, if needed, and how to limit the effects on American consumers, White House officials told CNN.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hosted the White House meeting, which was also attended by Vice President JD Vance, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, one of the officials said. Chevron CEO Mike Wirth attended, as did executives from Trafigura, Vitol and Mercuria. The meeting was first reported by Axios.

While the Pentagon has continued making preparations should the president decide to resume his bombing campaign, Trump has long indicated internally that he would prefer making a deal with the Iranians and avoid further kinetic attacks, the sources familiar said.

Trump has privately pointed to the risks of resuming a bombing campaign — including the likely resumption of Iranian strikes on Gulf nations — suggesting the blockade was a more effective way to pressure the Iranians into talks.

“The blockade is genius,” the president told reporters Wednesday when asked how long it would continue. “Now, they have to cry uncle, that’s all they have to do. Just say, ‘We give up,’” he added.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Trump is planning to rely on a blockade extension.

Still, he has continued issuing threats. On Wednesday, he posted an AI image of himself holding a gun and warning, “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY.”

Several top aides and allies to the president acknowledge the potential political peril that comes with maintaining the status quo. The blockade has put immense strain on the global economy, with US gas prices above $4 per gallon — removing a key talking point for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. Still, several of Trump’s advisers agree that diplomacy is the best solution to ending the war swiftly, something Trump had promised when he first launched strikes into Tehran.

The talks to resolve the conflict, however, are at something of a standstill. Trump signaled this week he was unlikely to accept Iran’s latest proposal to end the conflict after Tehran proposed a plan that would reopen the strait while leaving questions about its nuclear program for later negotiations.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview earlier this week the new Iranian proposal was “better than what we thought they were going to submit,” but emphasized that a future deal must block Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

“Suffice it to say that the nuclear question is the reason why we’re in this in the first place,” he told Fox News Monday, saying Iran’s nuclear program “still remains the core issue here.”

Two people familiar with the matter said Trump conveyed his views during a Monday meeting with top national security officials at which Iran was discussed. One of the people said the president was not likely to accept the proposal.

Reopening the strait without resolving questions over Iran’s nuclear enrichment or stockpile of near-bomb-grade uranium could remove a key piece of American leverage in the talks, officials said.

It wasn’t clear after Monday’s meeting what Trump’s next steps would be. American officials say they remain concerned at what they regard as divisions with Iran’s regime, and are unsure who retains ultimate decision making power over a prospective deal.

For now, officials say they are waiting to hear back from Iran on a modified proposal that carries the blessing of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who hasn’t been seen in public since the war began.

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