President Donald Trump reportedly announced on Friday that he has abandoned plans to lift sanctions on Iran, following a scathing response from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
He also vowed to consider further military action if Iran resumes enriching uranium at nuclear levels deemed alarming.
Trump had contemplated easing economic restrictions to help Iran recover after recent U.S. and allied airstrikes.
But after Khamenei described those bombings as a symbolic slap to the United States, Trump said he decided to halt all efforts toward sanction relief. “I was hit with a statement of anger, hatred and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
The decision came just days after the White House ordered airstrikes on three underground Iranian nuclear sites—Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan—crippling Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
While Trump praised the campaign as a decisive blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, intelligence assessments have placed the setback at only a matter of months, not years. Trump dismissed those analyses as politically motivated.
Reaffirming his posture, the president told reporters he wouldn’t rule out additional strikes if Iran escalates its nuclear activities again: “Sure, without question, absolutely.”
He also endorsed international monitoring of the sites by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran’s authorities, however, have already moved to block such oversight.
The country’s Parliament voted to suspend IAEA inspections, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi suggested Tehran would reject any inspection requests. Khamenei, meanwhile, delivered a defiant speech, asserting that Iran would never capitulate.
The president’s reversal on sanctions relief has strained diplomacy even as it may reassure Iran‑hawkish allies in Congress and abroad.
Trump’s hardline stance contrasts sharply with discussions at the recent NATO summit in The Hague, where he hinted at a possible easing of enforcement on Iranian oil exports to support reconstruction—an indication of nuanced policy amid broader regional tensions.
On Capitol Hill, lawmakers remain divided. Senate Democrats introduced a resolution to limit presidential authority to conduct further strikes without Congressional approval, but it failed in a 53–47 vote.
Many Republicans defended Trump’s position, citing Iran’s hostile rhetoric and the need to maintain credible deterrence.
With milder options deferred and diplomatic pathways uncertain, the administration finds itself at another crossroads.
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