The confusion and uncertainty in Trump\u2019s mixed messaging<\/a> and his approval of back-to-back military strikes<\/a> leave major questions about what comes next in the conflict, just weeks after difficult diplomacy to reach even an initial deal between the longtime adversaries.<\/p>\n The whipsawing rhetoric could be a strategy to increase the pressure on Tehran to stop attacking ships transporting oil and natural gas in the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> and bend to U.S. demands on its nuclear program<\/a> \u2014 something Trump has tried before.<\/p>\n Whether it is a negotiation tactic or a signal of an escalation in fighting, mediators are scrambling to save the interim deal and the actions risk further inflaming tensions \u2014 which could spell problems for Republicans in November\u2019s midterm elections<\/a> if gas prices stay high.<\/p>\n Trump warned Wednesday that a new round of U.S. attacks was coming, even as he attempted to shrug off suggestions of a return to full-scale war. Hours later, the military announced it was carrying out new attacks on Iran that were meant to \u201cfurther degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnything that happens is going to happen very fast,\u201d Trump said earlier. \u201cWe\u2019re not looking for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n A group of people stands in shallow water as a cargo ship appears anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi\/ISNA via AP)\n<\/p>\n Women talk in front of a banner with graphic depicting the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei kissing head of the late commander of Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard expeditionary Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone attack in 2020 in Iraq, as they wait for the green light to cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo\/Vahid Salemi)\n<\/p>\n This satellite image provided by Vantor shows the view of tunnel entrances at the Pickaxe Mountain June 30, 2026, in Iran. (Satellite image \u00a92026 Vantor via AP)\n<\/p>\n Two boys stand in shallow water with foam floats as cargo ships and other vessels are seen in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi\/ISNA via AP)\n<\/p>\n President Donald Trump arrives for a media conference at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo\/Francisco Seco)\n<\/p>\n Show Caption<\/p>\n 1 of 5<\/p>\n A group of people stands in shallow water as a cargo ship appears anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi\/ISNA via AP)\n<\/p>\n Expand<\/a> A regional intelligence official involved in the mediation efforts said the conflict had reached a critical stage as mutual mistrust rises. But high-level communications are happening around the clock to salvage the ceasefire, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the delicate behind-the-scenes negotiations.<\/p>\n The foreign ministers of Pakistan and Qatar, as well as Egypt\u2019s intelligence chief, are leading the efforts, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan<\/a> \u2014 whose country hosted the NATO summit that wrapped Wednesday \u2014 and leaders from Saudi Arabia are also involved, the official said.<\/p>\n The U.S. is upset about ships being attacked in the Strait of Hormuz and accuses Iran of slow-playing discussions on curtailing its nuclear program<\/a>, the official said. Nuclear talks were a major next step to try to turn the interim deal announced last month into a lasting end to the war.<\/p>\n Tehran, meanwhile, says Washington is the one violating the agreement regarding the strait and failing to ensure that a ceasefire in Lebanon, including an Israeli withdrawal, is being implemented, the official said.<\/p>\n Michael Eisenstadt, a former U.S. military analyst who now directs the Military and Security Studies Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that \u201cwe\u2019re still in negotiating mode, no matter what the president says.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is part of negotiating, and declaring that the MOU is over is part of the negotiation as well,\u201d Eisenstadt said, referring to the memorandum of understanding that the ceasefire was built on.<\/p>\n Trump, though, has been explicit in public comments, saying he\u2019s lost interest in preserving the ceasefire: \u201cI think it\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe can play games, but I\u2019m not sure I want to make a deal,\u201d he said during the NATO summit<\/a> in Ankara, Turkey, adding that the U.S. military might \u201cjust finish the job.\u201d<\/p>\n Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran\u2019s lead negotiator, said the Trump administration had repeatedly violated the terms of the initial pact, forcing the country to respond appropriately.<\/p>\n \u201cThe era of bullying and extortion is over,\u201d Qalibaf posted on X. \u201cIt leads nowhere. We don\u2019t fold.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump says \u2018we\u2019ll probably hit them hard again\u2019<\/p>\n Pakistan, which helped broker the ceasefire, said renewed conflict is in \u201cno one\u2019s interest\u201d and urged both sides to uphold their commitments.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no alternative to continued engagement, dialogue and diplomacy to achieve shared goal of peace in the region,\u201d its Foreign Ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n Trump, nonetheless, dismissed Tehran\u2019s leaders, calling them \u201cscum\u201d and \u201csick people.\u201d Just last month, Trump said Iran\u2019s leadership was \u201cvery rational\u201d and \u201cnice to deal with,\u201d while also calling the country\u2019s leaders \u201csmart people.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking at an event in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance, who led U.S. efforts to reach the initial deal with Tehran, said Iran was \u201cwell behaved for about a week.\u201d He added that lately the country had begun attacking the strait and said, \u201cIf they shoot at ships, we\u2019re going to knock the hell out of them.\u201d<\/p>\n Could this be another negotiating tactic?<\/p>\n Before the U.S. and Iran reached their first, two-week ceasefire in April, Trump intensified his threats, pledging that American forces would bomb Iranian bridges, roads and power plants. He even posted online<\/a>, \u201cA whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.\u201d<\/p>\n He repeated dire threats before the tentative 60-day deal to end the war was reached last month.<\/p>\n Trump likes to seek ways to negotiate from a position of strength, and he could be looking for more leverage with new strikes. But being unequivocal about the end of the ceasefire also could free up Iran militarily \u2014 which could again roil oil prices and financial markets.<\/p>\n Ali Vaez, Iran director at the International Crisis Group, argued that escalating threats may be a riskier maneuver this time around, given the domestic and international stakes for the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cIt certainly looks like an effort to turn up the military heat without yet closing the diplomatic door,\u201d Vaez said. \u201cBut coercive bargaining is a dangerous game: At some point, a pressure campaign can acquire a momentum of its own and become the war it was ostensibly meant to avoid.\u201d<\/p>\n He added, however, that Iran still has every reason to return to the table because it desperately needs the economic relief that was promised under the interim deal.<\/p>\n Trump also has sent mixed signals about the fallout.<\/p>\n He long insisted that rising gas prices for Americans didn\u2019t factor into his calculations on Iran \u2014 only to say that part of the reason he agreed to the interim deal was to avoid an \u201ceconomic catastrophe.\u201d<\/a> He has since touted the falling price of oil after the deal was reached.<\/p>\n Elections ahead could scramble Trump\u2019s political calculus<\/p>\n The president again resumed his past threats<\/a> to strike Iran\u2019s civilian infrastructure, possibly including electric plants and desalinization plants, and to seize the oil-production hub of Kharg Island<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe may take over Kharg Island,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s not a thing they could do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Iran_War_Strait_of_Hormuz_4_646_851787.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n![\"Women](\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/APTOPIX_Iran_War_14459.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Iran_US_War_58787.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Iran_War_Strait_of_Hormuz_67825_6653f3.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n![\"President](\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Turkey_NATO_Summit_94168-1-1.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n
\nOfficials rush to save the ceasefire<\/p>\n