Iran War

Tehran, Iran – For months now, US President Donald Trump has been making nearly daily proclamations about the war on Iran – from threats of extensive bombing to claims of renewed negotiations. But Faezeh, a financial firm employee in Iran’s capital, says she has long stopped paying attention.

“His words certainly impact our lives, but I try to escape this toxic environment of uncertainty by focusing on what I can control and protecting myself and my loved ones,” the 27-year-old told Al Jazeera.

She is not the only one to do so.

As the war approaches its six-month mark, a number of Iranians are opting against chasing the non-stop headlines in an effort to protect their mental health. This week, as the threat of large-scale US military action once again loomed large, the level of expectation and concern among Iranians appeared to be much lower than on April 7, when the US president warned that “a whole civilisation will die tonight”, only to announce a ceasefire shortly afterwards.

“The US used to have presidents who talked less and did more,” asserted Roham, a colleague of Faezeh at the financial company in central Tehran. “But now with the role of social media and other outlets in which Mr Trump is well-versed, he talks more and doesn’t have to do as much,” he told Al Jazeera.

President Donald Trump dismissed reports that the United States is running short on munitions for the conflict with Iran, telling the Wall Street Journal on Sunday that the U.S. military has “far more munitions than anyone in the world, and far more than we need” as his administration continued weighing diplomacy alongside the possibility of renewed military escalation.

Trump’s comments pushed back against reports from the New York Times and other outlets that concerns over declining stocks of Patriot and other air defense interceptors factored into internal deliberations over whether to expand the U.S. military campaign against Iran, even as the administration has emphasized that diplomatic efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz remain underway.

Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press and Fox News Sunday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz reinforced Trump’s message, declaring that “the U.S. military, and I’ve verified this every which way, has everything that it needs to conduct this campaign as effectively as it needs to be,” while insisting Trump is “keeping all options on the table” as he gives negotiations “some space” to continue.

“I have to tell you, the people that are leaking this nonsense deserve to be in jail,” Waltz said on Meet the Press, while acknowledging that years of military support for Ukraine and operations against the Houthis had strained some inventories before President Donald Trump took office. Waltz argued the administration is rebuilding stockpiles while shifting toward newer, less expensive munitions and other emerging technologies.

Speaking on Fox News, Waltz said the administration’s military campaign had focused on degrading Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and regional stability, arguing that “the Iranian regime is isolated, economically devastated, militarily devastated,” and adding that Tehran was beginning to struggle financially, including paying government workers and members of its military.

The administration’s public defense of its military readiness follows reports that Trump postponed a planned expansion of the U.S. air campaign after meeting Friday with senior advisers, amid a broader debate over the costs and risks of escalating the conflict while diplomatic efforts continued.

According to the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, U.S. military planners had prepared an expanded campaign that could have lasted up to two weeks before Trump opted to allow diplomacy additional time. The newspaper reported that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine informed senior officials about declining inventories of Patriot and other air defense interceptors, while assessing that lower stockpiles would increase operational risk but would not prevent renewed military operations if Trump ordered them.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday vowed to attack critical Iranian infrastructure ‌every time Tehran targets ​a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran,” Trump declared on Truth Social.

Trump has previously refrained from targeting civilian infrastructure in Iran, though he did warn in April that the “whole civilization” would die if the regime refused to agree to a cease-fire.

Iran recently declared the Strait of Hormuz closed “until further notice” after stopping a vessel it accused of using an unauthorized route.

Since then, the IRCG has reportedly attacked two commercial vessels transiting the waterway, including a Cyprus-flagged ship.

Earlier this month, Trump floated the idea of the United States taking control of the strait, which normally sees around one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies flow through it.