Updated

US President Donald Trump told reporters that Washington is deliberately "low-keying" its confrontation with Iran, saying the administration is "just watching Iran with its huge inflation" and asserting that Tehran lacks sufficient funds to pay its troops. The comments signal a strategy of relying on economic pressure and sanctions rather than fresh military escalation, as the conflict with Iran entered what regional coverage described as Day 30 of its second phase. In further remarks, Trump said the United States is only "semi-negotiating" with Iran, indicating that contacts exist but fall short of a formal negotiating track. The characterisation leaves the diplomatic status ambiguous at a time when Tehran has been pursuing arrangements with regional states and facing continued sanctions pressure. Iranian officials have not confirmed the scope of any current talks. The remarks were widely read as reinforcing the administration's preference for attrition through economic strain over renewed direct confrontation.