Trump signals progress with Iran as sanctions and strikes continue

President Trump says the US is 'doing very well with Iran' while Treasury sanctions Canadian firms and missiles hit Qeshm Island.

Trump signals progress with Iran as sanctions and strikes continue — President Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House on Friday that the United States is "doing very well with Iran" as indirect negotiations continue.[^1] He added, "We are talking to Iran. We have been. We haven't lost a soldier in seven months or six months. We have the Hormuz Strait opening."[^1] The remarks come alongside a flurry of coercive actions that paint a more complicated picture. The US Treasury announced on Friday that it has imposed financial sanctions on eight money services firms based in Canada, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stating that "Canada cannot be a safe haven for illicit financial facilitators serving Iran."[^2] Separately, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an order cutting off Seychelles-incorporated crypto exchange MEXC Global from the US financial system over at least $16 billion in illicit transactions linked to Iran, North Korea, and Russia.[^3] US Central Command has also announced a reward of up to $20 million and possible relocation for information about Iran's nuclear program — a move that sits uneasily alongside Trump's repeated claims that the program has been obliterated.[^4] On the ground, two missiles struck Iran's Qeshm Island on Saturday after an aircraft was heard overhead, according to Iranian state media.[^5] Local witnesses said two projectiles struck the Suza area of the island in southern Iran.[^5] The incident has not been publicly claimed by any party, and its timing — hours after Trump's conciliatory remarks — underscores the layered, often contradictory signals emanating from Washington and Tehran. A European official described an unrelated announcement by Jared Kushner as a "complete surprise," suggesting that even close allies are struggling to read the administration's Iran strategy. The gap between Trump's declared optimism and the intensifying financial and military pressure leaves an open question: is this a coordinated escalation designed to strengthen the negotiating hand, or a policy pulled in two directions at once? Haredi holdout and settlement surprise: coalition jitters before mandate