US President Donald Trump on 29 July declared that Iran is eager to reach a nuclear agreement with Washington and has effectively conceded that it will never possess a nuclear weapon — but he warned that American military strikes would resume if negotiations collapse. Trump made the remarks during a virtual rally for Republican Congressman Andy Ogles in Tennessee and in a separate interview with Fox News.

What Trump Said

Speaking to voters in Tennessee, Trump said the United States had struck Iran hard and that Tehran now desperately seeks a resolution. 'We've taken them, we've hit them very hard and they wanna make a deal so badly,' he said. He added that Iran had informally accepted the core US demand. 'They cannot have a nuclear weapon, very simple. And they've agreed to that essentially, we have to get them to make it formal, but they've agreed to it,' Trump said.

In the Fox News interview, Trump pushed back against Iranian statements suggesting that nuclear matters were not on the table. 'For some reason, we can be in the midst of a beautiful discussion, and they'll come out and say, we're not talking or we didn't discuss nuclear,' he said. 'Well, that's all we discussed because they'll never have a nuclear weapon, they understand that.'

Military Threats and the Strait of Hormuz

Trump made clear that a diplomatic failure would trigger extensive military action. He threatened strikes on Iran's bridges, power stations, and other infrastructure. 'If they don't make a deal, then I go back and I finish the job,' he said. He also warned that the United States could target Pickax Mountain, where Iran was reportedly conducting construction and fortification work. 'We took out their nuclear sites, and we'll have to take out Pickax if we don't make a deal,' Trump said.

Trump further claimed that the US military was controlling access through the Strait of Hormuz, allowing passage only to selected ships. He said Washington had temporarily eased the blockade after reaching a preliminary understanding with Tehran, but restored it after Iran reportedly broke the arrangement. 'The only ones that get through are the ones that we want to get through,' he said.

Background: The 2015 Nuclear Deal and Its Collapse

The current standoff has deep roots. Iran and six world powers — including the United States — concluded a landmark nuclear agreement in 2015 that placed restrictions on Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from that accord in 2018 during his first presidential term, triggering a gradual Iranian rollback of its own commitments. The current round of talks represents the most significant diplomatic engagement between the two sides since that withdrawal.

What Happens Next

No formal agreement has been signed, and Iran has publicly disputed the characterisation of talks as being focused exclusively on nuclear matters. The gap between Trump's claims of near-consensus and Tehran's public posture suggests significant ambiguity remains. Analysts will be watching whether Iran moves to formalise any concession, or whether Trump's military threats harden Iranian domestic opposition to a deal. The fate of the Strait of Hormuz blockade — and its impact on global oil flows — adds a sharp economic dimension to an already volatile diplomatic standoff.