Trump Says We’re ‘Semi-Negotiating’ With Iran. I Have Semi-Questions.

By Tammy-Jo Pritchett · August 9, 2026

Opinion

Let me tell you something. When my nine-year-old says he “semi-cleaned” his room, I go in there and find Legos in the bathtub and a sandwich crust under the pillow. “Semi” is not a word that inspires confidence in this household. So when the President of the United States sits down with Axios on a Sunday and says we are “only semi-negotiating” with Iran, I need somebody to explain to me what exactly that means, because from where I’m standing, it means nothing.

Here’s what we know. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi got in front of reporters and said, plain as day, that Tehran is not in direct talks with the United States. Not happening. Messages through intermediaries, sure. But talks? No. He said negotiations “cannot resume” until the U.S. corrects its behavior. Meanwhile, our Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was on CNBC Tuesday saying a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz could come as soon as Wednesday. Wednesday! That was days ago. Trump and Marco Rubio were both out there saying an agreement was imminent.

So which is it? Because one side is listing demands and the other side is doing press hits about a chess game.

And what demands they are. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council put out a list that reads like a teenager’s Christmas list if the teenager ran a theocracy. Never threaten Iran again. End the war. Lift the naval blockade. Pull all U.S. forces out of the region. Pay war reparations. Lift sanctions. Release frozen assets. Unconditionally. I’ve seen more reasonable demands from my preschooler at a Target checkout. At least she has the decency to ask for Skittles and not a complete surrender of American foreign policy.

And Trump’s response? “We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.” He said it like he’s watching a pot of water boil. “It will work out. It always works out.” Sir, with respect, what always works out? Because oil prices went up Friday. Brent crude closed at $83.55 a barrel. Ship traffic through Hormuz dropped 33% in a single day. A fifth of the world’s energy supplies goes through that waterway. I don’t need a degree from the Wharton School to know that when the shipping lane shuts down, the gas pump eats my grocery budget.

While our president is “low keying it,” Iran’s parliament is reviewing a draft plan to ban American and Israeli ships from the strait entirely. Countries that have “caused damage” to Iran would have to pay compensation before their vessels could transit. They’re not negotiating. They’re writing the rules and waiting for us to sign them.

And the Houthis, Iran’s proxies in Yemen, hit a Saudi Aramco refinery in Jazan with a drone on Sunday. Fire broke out. Firefighters put it out. No injuries, Saudi Arabia says. The Houthis called it a “precise” strike. They also attacked the Yemeni port of Mokha, killing at least seven people and injuring fifteen civilians. These are the people Iran arms and funds while we “semi-negotiate.”

Houthis attack on Saudi Aramco refinery in Jazan

Iran even swapped out its top security chief. Mohsen Rezaei, a former Revolutionary Guard commander, is now heading the Supreme National Security Council. This is the same Rezaei who said Iran will never allow an unauthorized route through the strait. That’s the man they put in charge. Read the room.

Look, I’m just a mom who reads the news and does the math. But I can tell you that when the other side says “no” and your side says “semi,” nobody is getting a deal. And the people who pay for that gap are the ones filling up a minivan twice a week.

The 60-day window from that June interim deal runs out in about a week. And I have a feeling “it always works out” is going to age about as well as that sandwich crust under the pillow.

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