Wright: Iran nuclear deal may never happen — SkimNews
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- Chris Wright told ABC's "This Week" a nuclear deal with Iran may never happen, suggesting the administration's goal is destroying Iran's nuclear capabilities rather than negotiating, though on CBS he added that Trump's preference "is always to have a negotiated settlement."
- CENTCOM struck three Iranian crude oil carriers in retaliation for IRGC ballistic missiles fired at two U.S. Navy warships, permanently disabling one carrier off Kharg Island and one near Jask; Adm. Brad Cooper warned: "if you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours."
- Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and top negotiator, declared Iran's "proportionate responses" to U.S. attacks are over, promising "faster, heavier, and more painful" retaliation while acknowledging "severe fluctuations in the exchange rate" and economic hardship.
- Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told Reuters Tehran plans to announce a new restriction zone outside the Strait of Hormuz, where the U.S. blockade since mid-April has effectively shut the key waterway.
- Iran's economy is buckling under the pressure: GDP contracted 2.7% in the year ending March, inflation hit 62.2% in February with food prices up 99%, and one Iranian official told the New York Times the war has cost one million jobs.
- Treasury sanctioned a small Turkish investment bank and two subsidiaries accused of funneling funds to an IRGC arm, part of late-August sanctions targeting Iran's digital assets, gold reserves, commercial aviation, and shipping.
- Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth posted on X that "if Iran shoots at U.S. ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers," as Iran's parliament speaker warned the "rules of the game have changed."
Why it matters: The administration's split messaging — Trump publicly favoring a deal while Wright floats indefinite military destruction of capabilities — signals the U.S. is committed to strangling Iran economically while keeping diplomacy alive as a pressure tactic. With Iran facing 62.2% inflation, a 2.7% GDP contraction, and one million jobs lost, Tehran is squeezed but signaling new Strait of Hormuz restrictions that threaten the energy supply chains already disrupted since the February 28 start of the war.
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