Blinken says Trump has put U.S. in a very difficult position on Iran
Blinken says Gulf states are looking to open their own talks with Tehran.
Published · Updated
UpdateTuesday, September 15, 2026 at 7:50 PM ET
Blinken says Gulf states are seeking their own deals with Tehran because they doubt Washington can defend them if the conflict widens.
Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the United States is in a very difficult position of Donald Trump's making over Iran. He says Iran has an interesting way of negotiating if it means launching more projectiles at the U.S. and its partners while pushing the Houthis to keep disrupting the Red Sea corridor and the Strait of Hormuz.
Blinken also says Gulf states are looking to open their own talks with Tehran, a separate diplomatic track running alongside the military tension.
The backdrop includes reports of explosions on Iran's Qeshm Island, according to Iran's state news agency, and comments from Vice President JD Vance that the U.S. is not carrying out aggressive operations in Iran even as strikes and shipping incidents continue, according to the New York Post. Vance has said he expects the war to end after the midterm elections and that it would enter what he called a 'much different phase' once they pass, according to the New York Post. The Congressional Budget Office has put the war's cost over its first five months at $38 billion and raised its inflation forecast for early 2027 by half a point.
Blinken's remarks reflect tensions already priced into markets, particularly around Red Sea disruptions and regional instability. Set against the administration's stated goal of ending, rather than managing, the Iran threat, his criticism adds political friction but no new operational detail that would shift near-term risk positioning. For now, this remains a contained geopolitical dispute rather than a catalyst for material market repricing.