Three Officials Urge Trump to Maintain Economic Pressure on Iran
Key Facts
Axios reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are urging President Donald Trump to maintain a state of “no war, no deal” and continue economic pressure on Iran. The report thus shifts the discussion from advice attributed to Ratcliffe alone to a shared position among three administration officials. At the same time, Trump is pursuing two parallel tracks: allowing room for negotiations and preparing to return to war if he concludes that an agreement is not possible. This approach places economic pressure and the threat of military action alongside a diplomatic track that remains unresolved. It comes as Qatari mediators await both sides’ response to a draft aimed at resuming direct negotiations.
According to a source with direct knowledge of the discussions, Ratcliffe told Trump that continued economic pressure could push Tehran to make further concessions or worsen domestic unrest in a way that could lead to a popular revolution. The report attributed this assessment to the source, while the CIA declined to comment. In an interview with Axios, Trump said the United States had “crippled their finances,” adding that the Iranians “have no money, no gasoline, and their people are starting to get fed up with the situation.” The remarks present the administration’s view of the impact of economic pressure, while the recommendation attributed to Ratcliffe remains an assessment credited to the report’s source. The report does not, in this account, confirm reports of explosions on Qeshm Island or of air defenses being targeted.
Within the administration, Vice President JD Vance and White House envoy Steve Witkoff are pushing for a deal, according to Axios sources, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Pete Hegseth want combat operations to resume. The report says most Gulf countries support reaching an agreement and have conveyed their position to Trump. On the Iranian side, the report said President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had given the government authority to try to reach an agreement through diplomacy. The divergence shows that the US decision is being made amid competing pressures over the way forward, while no final outcome to the negotiations has been announced. The position attributed to Gulf countries also adds regional support for a settlement, according to the sources cited by the report.
A draft prepared by Qatari mediators includes a sequence of confidence-building steps spanning three days, aimed at paving the way for the resumption of direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran. A diplomat familiar with the matter said the mediators are awaiting both sides’ response to the draft. The report added that Qatari mediator Ali Al-Thawadi traveled to Tehran on Monday, 2 November, to continue discussions on it. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said diplomatic exchanges had become intensive and that the resumption of negotiations depended on Washington accepting Tehran’s terms for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Axios quoted him as saying that “negotiations will resume” if the United States accepts those terms, making the strait one of the outstanding issues in the diplomatic process.
The issues under discussion include the nuclear dimension. Axios reported that Russia had offered to take part in any agreement, including by receiving Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium. It also said China is urging Washington and Tehran to resume direct negotiations. In a statement reported by the Associated Press, Vance said the United States had held “a number of good conversations with the Iranians” and that he and Trump were optimistic about the possibility of a negotiated settlement. He tied any agreement, however, to a firm and verifiable Iranian commitment not to rebuild its nuclear program. Qatar’s mediation held two rounds of talks with Iranian officials during the previous week, with further talks planned for the current week, according to the agency.
The diplomatic push has unfolded alongside the war’s economic and military costs. The Associated Press estimated that the war had cost US taxpayers at least 47 billion dollars through 2 November. Trump said, according to the agency, that there had been no clashes for months. It also reported that October saw the highest number of attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz since March, amid Iranian pressure on Washington to lift the blockade. In markets, the agency linked a sharp drop in oil prices on Monday to renewed diplomatic efforts that appeared to be making progress. It added that war-related increases in fuel prices had become a political burden for Republicans ahead of the elections.
US economic pressure is built on measures targeting oil financing and transport networks. The US Treasury Department said its relevant office had intensified pressure on Iran during fiscal year 2025 through overseas actions and by targeting oil-smuggling networks and shadow banks. The department added that it had imposed sanctions on international networks that facilitated the shipment of millions of barrels of Iranian crude. According to the report, those networks included front companies and logistics providers linked to Iran’s Ministry of Defense. On the parallel diplomatic track, China plans to send a special envoy to Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia in early to mid-November, according to the Associated Press, as Qatari mediators await Washington and Tehran’s response to their draft.