Trump Signals Diplomacy as US Intensifies Strikes on Iran
WASHINGTON- U.S. President Donald Trump remains willing to pursue diplomacy with Iran despite an escalating military campaign, the White House said on Thursday, as American forces launched another wave of strikes against Iranian targets and tensions over the Strait of Hormuz continued to deepen.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Washington remained in contact with Tehran even as the United States intensified military operations following the collapse of a fragile ceasefire reached in June.
“The president will hold them accountable when they turn their back on the words that they state to the United States. But he is always open to diplomacy at the very same time,” Leavitt told reporters.
She said Iranian officials had indicated they still wanted to reach an agreement with Trump, adding that discussions were continuing. At the same time, she said the administration would not allow Iran to attack shipping in the Strait of Hormuz without facing consequences.
The diplomatic message came one day after Trump welcomed what he described as the release of a U.S. citizen detained in Iran since December 2024, calling it a “gesture of goodwill” that could signal an opening for renewed engagement.
Human rights lawyer Jared Genser identified the individual as Dena Karari, saying she had been detained on what he described as unfounded charges and was returning to the United States. Iranian authorities denied that any such release had taken place.
Despite the diplomatic rhetoric, U.S. military operations continued. U.S. Central Command said American forces launched a fifth consecutive night of strikes beginning at 1800 GMT on Thursday to further degrade Iran’s military capabilities.
According to Iranian state media, U.S. projectiles struck Qeshm Island and areas near Bandar Abbas, home to Iran’s largest commercial port as well as key naval and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facilities located along the Strait of Hormuz.
The strategic waterway remains at the center of the confrontation. Although the strait briefly reopened after a U.S.-Iran agreement in June, Tehran said last week it would again remain closed until what it described as U.S. aggression ended. Washington has also reinstated a blockade of Iranian ports.
Pakistan, which helped broker last month’s memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, called for renewed negotiations. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Islamabad would continue encouraging all parties to end the violence and resume technical-level talks under the agreement.
Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf questioned the value of the existing agreement, saying it could only remain meaningful if all of its provisions were implemented.
Trump has repeatedly warned that the United States could broaden its military campaign by targeting Iranian power plants and bridges if Tehran refuses to return to negotiations. In an interview with Fox News, he said the situation for Iran would worsen in the coming week.
Iran responded with further warnings. A spokesperson for the country’s military headquarters said that if Washington carried out its threats against Iranian infrastructure, “all infrastructure in the region” would be “crushed.”
The latest developments underscore the widening gap between ongoing diplomatic contacts and an increasingly intense military confrontation that continues to threaten regional stability and one of the world’s most important energy transit routes.