The US president sees the option as preferable to active hostilities or a retreat, even as gas prices continue to grow, according to the WSJ
US President Donald Trump has ordered a plan to prolong the blockade of Iranian ports in a bid to pressure Tehran towards a more favorable peace deal, despite his approval rating hitting record lows, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing sources.
Unnamed officials told the paper that Trump has told aides to prepare for an extended blockade, seeing the option as risky but preferable to renewed bombing or a full-scale retreat from the conflict.
The paper described the policy as “a high-risk bid to compel a nuclear capitulation” of Iran, which has long rejected US demands to dismantle its atomic program and hand over its enriched uranium stockpile.
The article came out after Axios and several other media reported that Iran had offered a three-step proposal for ending the conflict, which would reopen the Strait of Hormuz while leaving nuclear talks for a later phase. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, however, poured cold water on the proposal, stressing that the nuclear issue remains fundamental to the settlement.
According to the WSJ, Trump saw Tehran’s overture as a sign that it is not negotiating in good faith. The paper also suggested that the proposal would allow Iran to set terms for an off-ramp. In addition, a senior US official told the outlet that the blockade is “demonstrably crushing Iran’s economy,” adding that the mounting pressure was the reason behind the latest Iranian proposal in the first place.
The Iran policy, however, has split Trump’s allies. While hawks are reportedly urging him to double down on pressure, business figures sound the alarm about economic fallout from the Hormuz disruption and high energy prices, which could herald the “death knell” for the Republicans in the midterm elections.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Monday suggested that Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 34%, down from 36% earlier in April and from 47% when he took office in January 2025. Only 22% of respondents approved of his handling of the cost of living crisis, the poll added. The president, however, has said that he does “not care about polling” and that he has “to do the right thing.”
As traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continues to face disruptions, the US national gas price average has reached $4.2 per gallon, with the Brent benchmark oil price at that $115 mark, compared to around $70 before the war.
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