Trump Outlines Strategies Against Iran, Says US Controls Iran’s Money

President Donald Trump said that Iran’s economic situation is not sustainable and that the United States has total control of the regime’s money.

President Donald Trump in Washington on Aug. 3, 2026. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Donald Trump has said the United States has three “powerful strategies” to use against Iran and warned that the regime’s economy is “not sustainable” due to various factors.

In a pre-taped interview with Real America’s Voice that aired early Tuesday morning, Trump said there are multiple ways his administration could bring an end to the war: continue to negotiate with Iran while allowing Iran’s economy to struggle, carry out military strikes against Iran, or beat Iran economically.

Trump announced in a Truth Social statement on Monday that he would demand Iran pay compensation for people killed by the regime as part of future negotiations. His demand came after Tehran refused to reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless the United States agreed to a list of demands, including damages caused by the Iran war.

During the Real America’s Voice interview, Trump detailed the various strategies the United States could use against Iran. He said the first strategy would be to “just keep it alone, and they’re going to fail.”

“Look how bad they’re doing, because they’ve got 300 percent inflation; they have no value,” Trump said. “Their currency has almost no value. They’re not paying their soldiers. Their soldiers are leaving.”

Trump warned that Iran’s economic situation was “not sustainable” following increased inflation and U.S. sanctions against the regime.

He also told Real America’s Voice that a second strategy would be for the United States to hit Iran “really hard.”

Last month, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) carried out strikes against Iranian military targets for 13 consecutive days, beginning on July 11 and concluding on July 23. Trump indicated on July 24 that the U.S. military was prepared for a massive attack against the regime.

The president previously warned that the United States could intensify military strikes on Iran. “We’re prepared to do that, as you know,” he said last month. “We’re locked and loaded and ready to go.”

Trump told Real America’s Voice that the third strategy the United States could use against Iran was to “just beat them economically.”

“So economically, they are a mess. They can’t borrow money. We control their money—what they had, which is a lot. They had a lot, and we have total control of it. I’m their banker,” he said.

Trump also criticized Tehran’s negotiation process during the pre-taped interview.

“They’re very devious negotiators because they’ll agree to something, then they’ll go out and tell the press that they never agreed to it,” he said. “They’re very dishonest people.”

Trump’s criticism of Iran’s negotiators came after months of negotiations between the United States and Iran. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17 after nearly four months of fighting following the start of U.S. military strikes against Iran on Feb. 28.

After the breakdown of the memorandum of understanding in July, the United States and Iran repeatedly exchanged military strikes before both countries paused additional strikes.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on July 27 that the regime had not asked for peace talks to resume after Trump paused military strikes. In response to Iran’s claim, a U.S. official told The Epoch Times that Iran had “begged the United States to halt the devastating strikes” and that the regime was “desperate for a deal.”

CENTCOM announced on Aug. 9 that U.S. forces had redirected 55 commercial vessels, disabled two ships, and boarded two others to ensure compliance with the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. The U.S. military reinstated the blockade of Iranian ports on July 14, after the temporary ceasefire between the United States and Iran collapsed in early July.

On Aug. 8, Iran warned that it would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless the United States agreed to a list of demands, such as removing the naval blockade of Iranian ports, lifting sanctions on the regime, releasing blocked Iranian assets, withdrawing U.S. military troops, and paying damages caused by the war.

Trump said on Aug. 9 that the U.S. naval blockade of Iran’s ports was hurting Iran’s economy. He added that Iran’s economy was “in very bad shape” and that the regime did not have the funding it needed to pay its military troops.

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