President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
President Donald Trump said on Aug. 19 that the United States might restart negotiations with Iran “at some point” after talks stalled in recent days.
Asked about the possibility of reopening peace talks with Iran on Wednesday, Trump told reporters: “Maybe at some point, but right now, I think the situation is so good. But maybe at some point.”
Trump reiterated his administration’s main sticking point in the negotiation process with Iran that the regime would not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. He warned on Wednesday that Iran would use a nuclear weapon if it ever obtained one.
“And we’re not going to let them use it,” he told reporters. “So, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and they won’t.”
Trump announced on Aug. 18 that the United States was not talking with Iran following the expiration of the 60-day negotiating window outlined under the memorandum of understanding signed by both countries on June 17. The memorandum gave the two countries 60 days to finalize a peace deal or extend the deadline if both countries mutually agreed to it.
“There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social statement on Tuesday. “The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect. The Hormuz Strait is open and operating. All water mines have been removed or detonated.”
During a White House tech roundtable on Wednesday afternoon, Trump said the United States had imposed “very draconian sanctions” on Tehran.
Trump also doubled down Wednesday on his previous announcement that the Strait of Hormuz was open and operational. He said that while traffic in the Strait of Hormuz might “slow down a little bit at some point,” a lot of boats were passing through the key waterway.
The president also said that the U.S. military’s naval blockade of Iranian ports had been “extremely effective” and “100 percent successful” after it was reinstated on July 14.
As of Aug. 19, U.S. forces had redirected 65 commercial vessels, disabled three ships, and boarded two others to ensure compliance with the U.S. naval blockade, U.S. Central Command said in a statement on X.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth previously indicated that U.S. forces could continue to enforce the naval blockade of Iranian ports as long as necessary and that the U.S. military would rotate ships in and out to support the blockade.
Trump said the United States had not allowed any ships to travel to or from Iran except when it paused the naval blockade following the memorandum of understanding in June.
“But the deal didn’t turn out to be what they said. You know, when they tell us one thing, and they do another,” Trump said.
“We’re going to see what happens,” he added. “It’ll either be extremely good, and oil prices are going to drop like a rock, or we’ll continue to do exactly what we’re doing.”
On Aug. 18, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, said the Strait of Hormuz was still closed. Qalibaf said the key waterway would not be reopened unless the United States ended its military operations in Iran, removed oil sanctions, released Iran’s frozen assets, and ended the naval blockade of Iranian ports.
