The Iran war is testing Trump’s “America First” message
Trump spent years criticizing prolonged U.S. wars overseas. Now, his own war with Iran is fueling backlash from some of his strongest supporters.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said on Aug. 18 that that no talks of any kind are taking place with Iran, effectively leaving the unpopular conflict that’s closing in on its six-month mark in a stalemate.
Trump in a Truth Social post said the United States’ naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in effect and that mines in the Strait of Hormuz had been removed or detonated.
“There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect. The Hormuz Strait is open and operating,” Trump stated.
The president indicated to reporters a day before, on Aug. 17, that he would let a June memorandum of understanding between the two countries that established a ceasefire and a framework for negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program lapse.
“Right now, they’re not showing any interest in doing something that makes sense for us,” Trump negotiator Jared Kushner told Fox News of a potential agreement earlier in the day. “They have to be willing to make a real deal.”
Iran also said no peace talks are taking place and called on the United States to extricate itself from the war.
“They have trapped themselves in a quagmire and, in order to justify their failures, they are forced to change their objectives,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Aug. 17, according to state news agency Tasnim.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pledged that the United States would continue its blockade and previewed new economic punishments for Iran during an Aug. 13 interview with Newsmax, as America dug in its heels to the conflict that’s increasingly roiled members of Trump’s political party over elevated gas prices and cost of living increases.
“Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of the economic isolation of a country,” Bessent said.
The U.S. military said it can maintain its blockade “indefinitely” and has sent the USS George Washington to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East amid reports of deteriorating living conditions for service members, who’d been at sea for nearly nine months.
“Indefinitely, the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we’ll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we’ll continue to,” Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said on Aug. 13.