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An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows President Trump speaking in the Oval Office with other men in suits standing behind him and a model airplane in front, Image 2 shows US CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper speaking at a Pentagon press briefing, Image 3 shows Nighttime shot of a large black smoke plume and bright orange flames rising from an oil depot, with the illuminated city skyline and hills in the foreground<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2013 President Trump is tightening the noose on Iran<\/a> and summoned his top military commander to signal to Tehran that it\u2019s time to make a deal.<\/p>\n CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper is reportedly briefing Trump Thursday about military strategy, but experts tell The Post there was a bigger message at play.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a signal to Iran and a political trial balloon to the US,\u201d a former administration official said.<\/p>\n That signal: Tehran should come to the table and make a peace deal or face more US military might.<\/p>\n President Trump is increasing the pressure on Iran to make a deal AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n An economic pressure campaign has been in full force against Iran. The blockade on the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> is in its third week and without its main waterway, Iran has had to store its crude oil instead of selling it.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s running out of places to keep<\/a> the 1.5 million to 2 million barrels of oil its wells produce daily. Shutting down production \u2013 and then starting it back up \u2013 would be an expensive proposition.<\/p>\n Huddling with Cooper \u2013 who also briefed Trump two days before the strikes on Iran originally began on Feb. 28 \u2013 sends a powerful signal to Tehran.<\/p>\n \u201cThe economic pressure is the US main effort but if Iranians don\u2019t agree to his terms as a result of that pressure he has Admiral Cooper on deck,\u201d Joel Rayburn, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who served as special envoy for Syria during Trump\u2019s first term, said of the president\u2019s strategy.<\/p>\n Trump gave a hint at his strategy when he spoke to reporters in the Oval Office<\/a> ahead of his briefing with the admiral, as reported by Fox News.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir economy is crashing,\u201d he said of Iran. \u201cThe blockade is incredible. The power of the blockade is incredible. They\u2019re not getting any money from oil, and hopefully it can be worked out very soon.\u201d<\/p>\n CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper is the commander of Operation Epic Fury AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n And by publicly revealing the meeting, Trump could send another message to Tehran that the US can and will strike back.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re going to make the economic pressure work you also have to show you have a credible military option,\u201d Rayburn noted.<\/p>\n The White House\u2019s show of force comes as Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued a rare public statement where he said there would be no place for the US to have future influence in the Gulf region and vowed that Iran would retain its nuclear capabilities.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the will and power of God, the bright future of the Persian Gulf region will be a future without America,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The peace talks, at the moment, seem to be at a stalemate. Trump canceled Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner\u2019s trip to Pakistan this past weekend and said t<\/a>here would be no more in person conversations.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"President](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15b46cc4ca910eebabc0fc86db54d184.jpeg\"\/)
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