U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran “currently wants to make a deal,” in the latest indication of contacts between Washington and Tehran as military and economic pressure on Iran intensifies and the war between the two sides continues.
اضافة اعلان
NewsNation quoted Trump as saying, “Iran currently wants to make a deal,” adding, “I think Iran is losing on all fronts.” He said he would not consider an agreement unless the deal sought by Tehran was “right.”
Trump’s remarks come amid his comments Thursday that he was nearing a decision on whether to launch a major attack aimed at ending the war, while also saying that the Iranians remained strongly interested in reaching an agreement.
Washington Tightens Economic Pressure
Alongside the political track, Washington has stepped up economic pressure on Tehran.
U.S. Treasury Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the United States had begun taking stringent measures against banks and entities supporting Iranian airline Mahan Air.
Pigott said the measures were part of an initiative dubbed “Economic Outcast,” and pointed to U.S. coordination with the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Oman and the United Kingdom to increase pressure on Iran.
He said the efforts had produced “tangible results,” including Türkiye and Oman suspending Mahan Air flights. He added that Washington would continue working with its partners to prevent Iran from using resources to advance its agenda.
U.S. sanctions have also expanded into the financial and aviation sectors. On September 4, the Treasury Department sanctioned Türkiye-based Golden Global Bank over alleged links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and added 36 new targets to its sanctions list related to Iran’s aviation sector.
The Cost of the War
As Washington tightens economic pressure, U.S. reports point to a rising human and military cost from the war.
The Washington Post, citing U.S. officials, reported that 22 U.S. military personnel had been killed, a figure higher than the number publicly disclosed by the Pentagon. The newspaper noted that some of the deaths were not directly related to combat but occurred among U.S. personnel stationed in the Middle East while hostilities were ongoing.
Three U.S. contractors stationed in the region have also died since the start of combat operations, according to the newspaper.
In another indication of the sensitivity of military operations, CNN, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the U.S. military nearly intercepted a Chinese vessel after an intelligence report incorrectly identified the nature of its cargo.
According to the sources, the report was prepared by an analyst at the U.S. Special Operations Command with assistance from an artificial intelligence tool. The information was later found to be inaccurate, leading to the cancellation of an operation that could have resulted in a confrontation with China.
Tehran Prepares for Worst-Case Scenarios
On the Iranian side, military messaging became more explicit Friday as Tehran held large rallies and a military parade attended by President Masoud Pezeshkian and senior military and security officials. The event included a display of Iranian-made drones.
Iranian media reported that 313,000 members of the Basij forces took part in the events as part of a mobilisation and defence campaign. Media reports also said that some volunteers were being trained and armed in preparation for the possibility of a ground attack.
The developments coincided with remarks by Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who said that “the era of hunting U.S. F-35 and F-15 aircraft has already begun,” arguing that what had once been a “terrifying nightmare” had become a daily reality for the United States.
At the same time, Tehran is facing growing pressure on its oil exports. A U.S. source familiar with the matter said around 60 million barrels of Iranian oil, or oil believed to be Iranian, are stranded aboard sanctioned vessels, while Chinese imports of those shipments have fallen to around 440,000 barrels per day.
The developments leave the war moving along two parallel tracks: military escalation that is increasing the cost of the confrontation for both sides, and economic pressure and political contacts that could open the way for negotiations.
The terms of the deal mentioned by Trump, however, and Tehran’s willingness to pursue it remain unclear.
Source: AFP + Agencies
