Keeping a low profile doesn’t come naturally to Donald Trump.

Yet that is the strategy the American President says he now favors in the war against Iran, and he is betting on economic pressure over diplomacy or new strikes.

Also read | Do not write the obituary of international law yet

“We are low-keying it,” Mr. Trump told news site Axios by phone Sunday (August 9, 2026).

“We’re only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.”

**Also read | A new security triangle emerges with the Makkah Pact **

The billionaire has since repeated that he is keeping the option of striking Tehran on the table, but prefers to stress the economic damage inflicted on the country through economic sanctions.

Follow here for LIVE updates: