Trump threatens major strikes on Iran, the US military launches a new wave
President Donald Trump insists that negotiations with Iran are only possible with military force, warning of heavy strikes ahead. Following his comments, the US launched major new strikes on Iran’s coastal defense systems and anti-ship missile depots to reduce capabilities and prevent attacks on the Strait of Hormuz.
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Thirty days after the US and Iran entered into a two-month negotiation period aimed at producing a final peace deal between the two countries, they appear closer to escalating war than diplomatic success.
Friday marks the halfway point of a 60-day window established under the June 17 memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran, which called for talks on Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, sanctions and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Friday marks the halfway point of a 60-day window established under the June 17 accord between the US and Iran, which called for talks on Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, sanctions and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
But the first half of that period was marked by repeated Iranian attacks on commercial shipping, hundreds of US strikes on Iranian military targets and retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the region, and President Donald Trump declaring “it’s over.”
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The Trump administration also revoked one of the most important concessions provided to Iran under the deal – a temporary waiver allowing Iran to sell oil – and reinstated the naval blockade that was lifted after the signing of the memorandum.
With only 30 days left, the administration is increasingly relying on military and economic pressure in an effort to bring Iran back to key talks before the window closes. Failure would leave the two sides without a clear diplomatic strategy to deal with Iran’s nuclear and missile programs or to restore safe passage to one of the world’s most important shipping lanes.
Trump said on Thursday that Iran has made a new plan in the US
“We got a call as I was coming here, and they wanted to meet,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News on Thursday.
“They don’t like what we’re doing, and they want to settle down,” he added in comments later that day. “We’ll find out if we get along with them or not, or if we just end it.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations was not immediately available to comment on the status of the talks.
The White House spoke of the words of press secretary Caroline Leavitt in a press conference on Thursday: “Iran continues to talk to the United States of America and has expressed that it wants to make a deal with us because it is dealing with damaging blows. In the name of our United States military. The reason and this is important for the American people to understand the reason for the recent strikes during the last few days that have broken us with Iran.”
The deal initially gave Iran an immediate economic incentive to continue the process. On June 22, the Ministry of Finance issued a general license authorizing the production, delivery and sale of Iranian crude oil, petrochemicals and petroleum products in Aug. 21.
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But the administration revoked that authorization less than three weeks after Iran attacked three commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
A US official said at the time that the deal was “entirely performance-based” and warned that Iran would only get benefits if it showed “good behavior.”
“Iran’s actions in this crisis are completely unacceptable to the United States and will face consequences,” the official said. “Negotiators continue to work in good faith to reach a final agreement.”
Mourners gather near a car carrying the coffin of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in Israeli and American airstrikes, and the coffins of his family members, the day he was buried, at the climax of a mass funeral, in Mashhad, Iran, on July 9, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency, via REUTERS)
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Iran has accused Washington of violating the memorandum, saying Tehran is complying with its obligations by controlling the crisis. Iranian officials accuse shipping companies of using routes that are not connected to Tehran.
Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum, said Washington and Tehran entered the negotiation period with very different goals.
“The United States saw it as an opportunity to get a long-term deal,” Roman told Fox News Digital. “The Iranians saw it as an opportunity to rise again.”
Roman said the renewed war suggests the administration is now viewing military pressure as necessary for negotiation.
“You have to hit them hard before you get a deal,” he said.
Trump’s former Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, however, doubted that the increased bombing campaign would force Iran to change course.
“I’m not sure if we pick up the bombing the way we’ve been doing for the past months and keep it up for a long time that would make a big difference,” Esper told the Financial Times.
Esper instead argued against “comprehensive” economic pressure backed by international support, although he acknowledged that this approach would take time and impose costs on American consumers.
“How do you suppress them?” Esper said. “One is that he is resorting to full-scale attacks on the military. The other is that he is strangling them economically.”
Esper said the strategy would require “time, patience (and) discipline” and could mean higher fuel prices in the short term.
The sanctions reform has been accompanied by a dramatic increase in US military activity against Iran.
US President Donald Trump speaks at the Pennsylvania Defense and Youth Conference at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, US, July 15, 2026. (REUTERS/Kylie Cooper)
The war began again in the days of the agreement and accelerated in early July after Iran attacked commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM said the US military then launched more than 300 Iranian strikes over three nights, including air defenses, missile and drone sites, coastal radars and naval forces.
The campaign has expanded deeper into Iran.
The sixth consecutive night of US strikes marked a new phase in the campaign, with roads, bridges and military bases around Bandar Abbas among the targets, Fox News has learned. The strikes were aimed at cutting off Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces from supply routes and isolating them near the port city, which is central to Iran’s ability to control the Strait of Hormuz.
The US reinstated its blockade of Iranian ports and disabled the Curaçao-flagged tanker Belma after CENTCOM said it ignored warnings while heading for an Iranian oil terminal.
Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks against countries that host US forces across the Gulf. On Friday, an Iranian strike destroyed a major power and desalination plant in Kuwait, while Qatar, Bahrain and other states reported more attacks to come.
“All the infrastructure in this region will be crushed under the iron conditions of the powerful forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran” if the United States carries out such an attack, said the spokesman of the military in Iran Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari in a statement released by Fars news agency.
“Under no circumstances will we allow America, as a foreign country, to interfere with the Strait of Hormuz,” he added, calling the Iranian waterway “an insurmountable red line.”
Despite the growing threats, Trump has continued to argue that a political solution is still possible.
“They don’t like what we’re doing, and they want stability,” Trump said Wednesday. “We’ll find out if we get along with them or not, or if we just end it.”
Another possible sign that communication remains open came on Wednesday, when Iran allowed US-Iranian citizen Dena Karari to leave the country after her travel ban had been in effect since December 2024. Trump thanked Iran for what he described as “an act of goodwill.”
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Salvaging the deal now will require both sides to move beyond initial contact, halt the escalating cycle of retaliation and return to talks on the nuclear, missile and sanctions issues at the heart of the memorandum.
The next 30 days will determine whether renewed military pressure strengthens that relationship — or ensures that the window for negotiations closes with the United States and Iran again at war.
Fox News’ Jen Griffin contributed to this report.
