[Anchor]

Reports have emerged that US President Donald Trump was previously willing to conclude negotiations even if a nuclear deal was not reached, provided that the Strait of Hormuz was opened. However, as Iran put forward tougher conditions, President Trump made remarks suggesting he is stepping back, noting that he is responding with low intensity.

New York correspondent Kim Hyunwoo reports.

[Reporter]

President Trump said in a phone interview with a US media outlet that he is taking a low-key approach to the Iran issue.

He also mentioned that Iran is suffering from inflation and that he is simply watching an Iran with no money.

This stance is much more passive compared to last week when he claimed that the Strait of Hormuz would open soon.

[Trump / US President (August 4): (Negotiations) are going smoothly. You will find out soon. You will find out within 48 hours.]

While some interpretations suggested Trump would use economic pressure instead of military threats, it remains uncertain whether this will work on Iran.

Iran has presented the US with new demands that go beyond the previous memorandum of understanding as a precondition for opening the strait.

These include six demands, such as US compensation for damages from two aggressive wars last year and this year, and the immediate lifting of economic sanctions that were supposed to align with a nuclear deal.

[Araghchi / Iranian Foreign Minister: There is no possibility of resuming negotiations unless the US compensates for violating the contents of the memorandum of understanding.]

Iran also appointed Mohsen Rezaei, a hardliner who previously stated that the Strait of Hormuz is more important than dozens of nuclear weapons, as the new secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

With a shortage of weapon stockpiles making it difficult to resume large-scale airstrikes,

US officials reportedly said that President Trump, caught in a dilemma, intended to declare victory and end negotiations even without a nuclear deal as long as the Strait of Hormuz was opened. Analysts now suggest that even this small goal has become difficult to achieve.

As Britain's Telegraph described the current conflict as a strategic blunder of historic proportions, forecasts continue to mount that this could become a painful defeat for the US, akin to the Vietnam or Afghanistan wars.

(Video footage taken by Lee Hee-hoon | Video edited by Kim Byung-jik)