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President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran is under severe pressure from a U.S. naval blockade and vowed to maintain it until Tehran agrees to a nuclear deal that meets American demands.
“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,” he told Axios in a phone interview.
The standoff centers on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil route that has been largely disrupted. Iranian officials have pushed for the blockade to be lifted before resuming nuclear negotiations, but President Trump rejected that approach.
“They want to settle. They don’t want me to keep the blockade. I don’t want to [lift the blockade], because I don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
U.S. officials have prepared contingency plans that could include targeted strikes on Iranian infrastructure if diplomacy fails, according to people familiar with the discussions. Trump has not authorized military action and declined to detail potential operations.
The president also mocked Iran by posting an image of the Strait of Hormuz with the waterway renamed the Strait of Trump. The post was originally posted by Women for Trump.
For now, administration officials describe the blockade as the primary source of leverage, aimed at forcing Iran back to the negotiating table. The president also claimed the pressure campaign is straining Iran’s energy system, though some analysts have questioned the impact of those effects.
Iran has signaled it could respond. A senior Iranian security source said the blockade “will soon be met with practical and unprecedented action,” according to state media.
The escalating rhetoric comes amid ongoing tensions over Iran’s nuclear program and concerns about the stability of global energy markets.