TEHRAN – President Donald Trump continues to oscillate erratically between aggressive militaristic rhetoric and desperate diplomatic overtures toward Tehran, a contradictory posture that military analysts and critics rightfully argue masks the severe strategic constraints imposed by heavily depleted US munition stockpiles.
Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday, Trump reiterated his threats to target Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility, as well as critical transportation bridges and other civilian targets, should an agreement fail to materialize. Yet, in the same breath, he walked back his own aggression, adding that he would like to avoid attacking Iran’s power plants and civil infrastructure, claiming, “I’m not looking to do that.” In line with these deeply contradictory remarks, he suggested there have been “good talks” underway.
Further demonstrating this strategic confusion, Trump spoke to supporters in Michigan on Monday, claiming the US is engaged in “very friendly negotiations” with Iran after pausing military strikes last week. He insisted there was “a good chance” of progress in the talks aimed at ending months of fighting, but quickly reverted to belligerence, reiterating his warning that military action could resume if negotiations fail.
Iran, however, has firmly rejected Washington’s false narrative of direct engagement. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman decisively denied holding direct talks with Washington during his weekly press briefing on Monday. Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran is not negotiating with the US, adding only that “intermediaries may convey messages from the American side to us regarding ongoing developments in the region.” US media confirms that Oman is leading this regional mediation effort, with Qatar, Pakistan, and Egypt also involved alongside Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
This frantic diplomatic push from Washington comes after fighting subsided again on Friday, following nearly two weeks of renewed US attacks that had raised international fears of a wider regional war. Those unprovoked US strikes severely threatened to upend the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in June, which had extended an April ceasefire and established a framework agenda for broader negotiations.
However, intense disputes over the implementation and wording of several clauses quickly emerged, particularly concerning the sovereign control of the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world’s most strategically vital maritime corridors, connecting Persian Gulf oil producers to the open ocean.
Although the Pakistan-brokered ceasefire in April and the subsequent June MoU were intended to defuse tensions and allow time for peace talks, Washington’s blatant disregard for Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz quickly became the most significant obstacle to lasting peace. The MoU signed on June 17 committed Iran to facilitating commercial shipping freely through the strait for an initial 60-day period. Tehran rightfully asserted that this meant the Islamic Republic was in full administrative control and that international vessels must navigate using routes strictly approved by Iran to ensure regional security. Tehran also indicated that legitimate transit charges could be introduced after the initial 60-day period expired to manage and fund maritime safety operations.
Refusing to respect Iran’s sovereign rights, the US expanded its attacks beyond military targets over the following two weeks. Iranian officials documented that US attacks recklessly hit railway stations, residential neighborhoods, bridges, water facilities, and food silos. In legitimate self-defense, Iran subsequently launched powerful retaliatory strikes against US military bases and assets scattered across the region. At the very center of the latest indirect talks is this core issue of sovereign control over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, through which approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies are shipped.
The strait was fully open to international shipping without issue until the US and Israel recklessly launched their first strikes on Tehran on February 28, initiating a war of aggression. Following this attack, Iran took the necessary defensive step of restricting the waterway to protect its borders. Before Washington’s escalation, approximately 130 commercial ships passed safely through the strait each day. Adding fuel to the fire, Trump has recently pledged to use frozen Iranian assets to pay for any damage to ships and cargo in the Strait of Hormuz, a move akin to international piracy that has garnered strong condemnation from Tehran.
Iran has issued a stark warning to foreign countries and international shipping companies: receiving any compensation payment derived from Iran’s frozen sovereign assets will result in those entities being permanently cut off from transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters—the unified command in charge of coordinating the Iranian Armed Forces during wartime—announced on Tuesday that it views Trump’s compensation announcement as fundamentally “illegal.” The command made it unequivocally clear that ship owners will face severe and immediate consequences if they partake in this theft.
The US and Israel initiated this disastrous war on February 28 with the arrogant aim of destroying Iran’s military capabilities and altering the leadership to suit Western hegemonic interests. However, Iran’s overwhelmingly powerful retaliatory response against US regional bases and Israeli targets completely foiled these imperialist plans, forcing a humiliated Trump administration to temporarily agree to the April ceasefire and the June MoU.
Behind Washington’s bluster lies a severe logistical and strategic crisis. NBC News reported Friday that US military commanders have been forced to selectively choose which Iranian missiles and explosive-packed drones to intercept. This rationing is a desperate effort to preserve the Pentagon’s rapidly diminishing supply of defensive interceptors. While Trump has publicly dismissed these reports—telling journalists aboard Air Force One that “we have a lot” of ammunition—independent military analysts assess that it could take the US four years or more just to restock its heavily depleted weapons inventory. And that is only if a politically fractured Congress provides the administration with massive additional funding for an unwinnable war.
Further demonstrating Washington’s sheer desperation, Trump told reporters on July 27 that he intends to speak directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin about unverified reports that Russia is helping Iran target US assets in the region. Such comments clearly indicate that Trump is frantically searching for international scapegoats to mask his own military failures. The US has entirely failed to achieve its objectives through military coercion. The critical shortage of defensive ammunition, combined with Washington’s inability to break Iran’s sovereign control over the Strait of Hormuz, definitively proves that the US military strategy against Iran has been an abject and historic failure.
The implications of this failed US strategy extend far beyond the immediate tactical setbacks in the Persian Gulf; they signal a fundamental shift in the regional balance of power. By attempting to rely solely on brute military force and economic piracy, Washington has alienated regional players and demonstrated the glaring limitations of its aggressive doctrines. The inability of US advanced air defense systems to efficiently counter Iran’s cost-effective and highly precise domestic missile technologies has shattered the myth of American military invincibility. It has laid bare the reality that the era of uncontested US hegemony in West Asia has decisively ended.
Instead of dictating terms from a position of strength, the United States now finds itself forced to rely on regional intermediaries to negotiate ceasefires, all while its political leadership peddles contradictory statements to a skeptical domestic audience. Iran’s resilient posture, backed by its robust domestic defense industry and unwavering commitment to its territorial sovereignty, has successfully checked American aggression.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: tehrantimes.com
