President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Iran to accept a deal “soon,” after stalled talks and reporting that the White House has prepared for an extended blockade of Iranian ports. In a Truth Social post he said Iran “couldn’t get its act together” and warned Tehran to “get smart soon,” adding that the country “doesn’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal.” The post included an AI-generated image of Trump amid explosions with the caption “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. officials told the president to prepare for a prolonged blockade to squeeze Iran’s economy and oil exports. According to officials cited by the paper, Trump chose continued economic pressure rather than resuming strikes or abandoning the negotiations because those options posed greater risks.
Iran’s leadership pushed back, saying the country could endure a blockade by using alternative trade routes and reiterating that it did not consider the conflict concluded. The war, which began late February, has killed thousands, disrupted global shipping lanes and unsettled energy markets.
Economic fallout has already become apparent. Iran’s currency, the rial, tumbled to a record low of about 1.8 million to the U.S. dollar as a fragile ceasefire held, raising concerns that the slide will deepen inflation and increase the cost of imports such as food, medicine and electronics.
Energy markets reacted to the prospect of a prolonged blockade. Oil prices rose nearly 3 percent on Wednesday, with Brent crude reaching a one-month high amid worries that extended disruption of Iranian exports would tighten supplies. The World Bank warned that if acute disruptions from the conflict persist, energy prices could jump substantially in 2026.
The White House has also been engaging energy industry leaders. Trump and senior officials met with oil and gas executives, including Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, to discuss the conflict’s impact on supply and markets. Attendees reported by Axios included White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner; topics reportedly included boosting domestic production, Venezuela, futures markets, natural gas and shipping.
Diplomatic and leadership dynamics in Iran appear to be shifting. Several senior Iranian political and military figures have been killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes, and Tehran lacks a single undisputed clerical leader at the top, a change that analysts say could strengthen the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ influence and harden negotiating positions. Iran recently proposed resolving the war by first securing a formal end to hostilities and addressing shipping issues, then discussing nuclear matters later — an approach that failed to meet Trump’s insistence on addressing Iran’s nuclear program from the outset.
The U.S. response has included maritime enforcement. U.S. Central Command said it boarded and released a commercial vessel suspected of heading for Iran after confirming it would not call at an Iranian port. Video released by the command showed marines fast-roping from a helicopter onto the Comoros-flagged M/V Blue Star III in the Arabian Sea. Officials say 39 vessels have been redirected since the blockade began.
Humanitarian actors are also on the ground. The International Committee of the Red Cross arrived in Iran to meet officials and local partners, assess needs and discuss delivery of relief through the Iranian Red Crescent. The ICRC reported delivering more than 170 tonnes of essential supplies this month, with additional medical and forensic aid en route, and said its president was pressing for respect for the laws of war.
On the diplomatic front, Trump said at a White House state dinner that Britain’s King Charles opposed Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon and criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for what he described as insufficient support in prosecuting the conflict.
With negotiations stalled and multiple levers — from economic pressure to maritime operations — still in play, the situation remains tense and uncertain. Leaders on all sides face difficult choices over whether to escalate, sustain pressure, or return to talks to try to resolve the crisis.
