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Trump’s ‘Make a Deal or Finish the Job’ Warning Stalls Talks and Raises Gulf Risks

Renewed U.S. military threats have paused final negotiations and increased the chance that the fragile ceasefire will break and maritime attacks will rise.

Overview

  • President Donald Trump told reporters he would “either make a deal or … finish the job,” saying the U.S. could eliminate Iran’s gathered leadership or cripple its infrastructure but that he preferred a negotiated settlement.
  • Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran will not resume talks while public threats continue and the Iranian Embassy in Armenia publicly rebuked Trump’s comments.
  • Mediated indirect talks that followed a June ceasefire have paused during the weeklong state funerals for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and negotiators reported no public progress before the pause.
  • A commercial tanker was struck and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the British military reported, sharply raising near‑term risks to shipping and testing the ceasefire’s limits.
  • Large funeral processions in Tehran have projected defiance and stoked hardline calls for revenge, exposing internal political pressure in Iran and narrowing the window for diplomacy led by regional mediators.