President Trump dismisses need for an agreement with Iran, saying any deal would be ”worthless” the regime.By David Rosenberg, World Israel NewsPresident Donald Trump said Tuesday night that he is no longer seeking to force Iran into negotiations, declaring that he prefers Washington’s current position as US forces battle Tehran for control of the Strait of Hormuz and the administration intensifies efforts to cripple the Iranian economy.Trump made the remarks in a Truth Social post responding to an ABC News report that characterized the administration’s expanding economic campaign as an effort to drive Tehran back to negotiations.“I’m not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table, as ABC Fake News reported,” Trump wrote. “I couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement.”The president also called on Iranians to “rise up” and challenge the regime.“I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing. They are just playing out the inevitable. When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”The post, published shortly after 9 pm Tuesday, came hours after the United States carried out a new wave of strikes against Iranian military targets amid a sharp renewal of fighting between the two countries.ABC chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce had reported earlier Tuesday that the administration was seeking to increase economic pressure on Tehran.Her report cited Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s comments about an effort to “economically asphyxiate” Iran and characterized the strategy as intended to force Iran back to the bargaining table.Bessent announced Tuesday that Washington expects to impose sanctions on an Iranian bank this week and another the following week, with additional measures potentially targeting companies and institutions doing business with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.“We have zero tolerance. We are going to economically asphyxiate this regime,” Bessent said.The economic pressure campaign is part of the administration’s recently launched Operation Economic Outcast, which is intended to sever Iran’s financial links abroad and target banks, shipping networks, offshore assets and other sources of revenue available to the government and the IRGC.Trump’s statement appeared to distance himself from the suggestion that bringing Iran back to negotiations remains the immediate goal of that pressure.His claim that the Iranian economy is collapsing comes as the country faces severe financial strain.The rial fell through 2 million to the US dollar in August, while annual inflation reached 66% in July. Iranian officials have acknowledged that sanctions and the US naval blockade are creating mounting economic difficulties.Iranian Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati disputed claims that the economy is on the verge of collapse Tuesday, saying the country still possesses adequate foreign-currency reserves and is prepared to inject as much as $2 billion into foreign-exchange markets.“Economic conditions and livelihood management have become difficult, but collapse has never happened and will never happen,” Hemmati said.Trump’s post also followed a major escalation around the Strait of Hormuz, which has emerged as a central battlefield in the six-month US-Iran war.US Central Command said Tuesday that American forces struck IRGC air-defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities after attempted attacks on commercial shipping and American personnel.More than 50,000 US troops are currently operating across the Middle East, according to CENTCOM.Trump said earlier Tuesday that the strikes were retaliation for what he described as an Iranian attempt to place additional naval mines in the strait and for eight missiles fired at a US military base in Jordan. He warned Tehran that any retaliation would lead to still more powerful American attacks.Iran subsequently launched missiles and drones against US-linked facilities and positions in several countries, including Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq. Iranian officials vowed that attacks would continue in response to the renewed US strikes.Despite Trump’s assertion of “almost total control” of Hormuz, shipping through the narrow waterway remains dangerous and heavily disrupted.Two oil tankers were struck this week, and vessels have continued to face Iranian attacks and the threat of mines even as the US military attempts to keep shipping lanes open.Before the war, roughly one-fifth of the world’s petroleum liquids passed through the Strait of Hormuz, making control of the waterway critical to both the global economy and the strategic positions of Washington and Tehran.Trump’s call for Iranians to “rise up and fight” also marked a renewed appeal for internal resistance to the Islamic Republic.At the beginning of the war in February, Trump repeatedly encouraged Iranians to challenge their government as US and Israeli strikes weakened the regime’s military and security apparatus. He subsequently adopted a more cautious tone as Iranian security forces moved against domestic unrest.The post Trump no longer interested in Iran deal, calls on Iranian people to ‘rise up’ against regime appeared first on World Israel News.