Trump casts doubt on new Iran negotiations as war drags on

Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Jeff Mason, Bloomberg News on Jul 31, 2026

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he’s losing confidence in Iranian negotiators, the latest sign that the renewal of armed hostilities in the Middle East could drag on.

Speaking during a Cabinet meeting on Friday, Trump took issue with missile attacks that Iran launched earlier this week against U.S. forces in Jordan that ended a multi-day pause in fighting.

“I’m losing faith in them because they do lie and do, they do misrepresent,” Trump told reporters during the meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland.

“We’ll be hitting them very hard,” the president added. “And at some point they’ll say we just can’t take it anymore.”

The five-month conflict has flared up again this month after the collapse of a June ceasefire, and there’s little sign of a diplomatic route out anytime soon.

Confidence between the parties appears to be at rock bottom, with Iranian leaders echoing Trump’s latest complaints by saying the U.S. side has reneged on commitments and can’t be trusted. The president has repeatedly threatened to escalate, but faces constraints as U.S. weapons stocks dwindle.

Vice President JD Vance, presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are still talking to intermediaries, the president said. But he groused that the Iranians “always want to talk, but they break their word so often.”

“All they do is make me angry,” Trump said.

The U.S. and Iran have exchanged airstrikes over the last several days, though no American attacks were carried out overnight.

Trump has repeatedly vented frustration with the state of the conflict in private, according to people familiar with the matter. The president and his advisers once predicted the war that he launched alongside Israel in late February would only last a matter of weeks.

Instead, the conflict has turned into an intractable fight, which has wreaked havoc on global energy markets. The disruptions have resulted in higher gasoline prices for Americans, causing a political risk for Trump’s fellow Republicans in the November midterm elections.

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With assistance from Hadriana Lowenkron and Skylar Woodhouse.

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