U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated on Sunday that the United States might not achieve a long-awaited agreement to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, as the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict continues into its seventh month.

“There may not be a nuclear deal. It might just come down to dismantling their capabilities,” Wright told ABC News’ “This Week.” “Such an agreement could be delayed until Iran’s next administration. We simply don’t know.”

President Trump has consistently emphasized that stopping Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon remains a key goal of U.S. efforts. Throughout the conflict, he has also attempted to negotiate a deal with Iran, even as energy prices have climbed globally.

Wright’s remarks indicate the administration may aim to stop an Iranian nuclear weapon without signing a formal nuclear agreement.

When asked if his comments suggest the U.S. will continue attacking Iran whenever it tries to reconstruct its nuclear facilities, Wright replied, “You have to eliminate their ability to do so.”

“We are reducing their capacity to build nuclear weapons and, eventually, to deploy them if they succeed,” he said. “This has been a 47-year effort. It’s not easy, but the United States will complete the mission and collaborate with our regional allies.”

Later, during an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Wright reiterated that President Donald Trump “always prefers a diplomatic resolution and avoids military action unless absolutely necessary.”

“The primary role of our military in the region right now is to prevent the export of Iranian oil or oil-related products, natural gas, or anything else,” he said. “We are strangling their economy to push for either a policy shift from the current regime or a new one.”

Iran vows retaliation

Iranian Parliament Speaker and chief nuclear negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared on Sunday that Iran’s “proportional responses” to U.S. attacks have ended, though he acknowledged the economic toll of the war.

“If they haven’t realized it yet, they should know before it’s too late that the rules have changed and that any future threat to Iran’s interests and security will be met with a ‘faster, heavier, and more severe’ response,” Ghalibaf said in a post on Telegram.

However, Ghalibaf admitted that alongside the fighting, Iran is dealing with serious economic challenges.

“Sharp fluctuations in exchange rates, inflation, unemployment, and market regulation are major issues putting significant strain on people’s livelihoods,” he said.

He also emphasized the importance of relying on domestic production and leveraging technology to create “short-term and lasting solutions.”

Ghalibaf’s statements follow U.S. airstrikes on three Iranian oil tankers. According to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), American forces permanently disabled one tanker near Kharg Island and another off Jask. A separate vessel was targeted in the Gulf of Oman.

Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, announced on Sunday that Tehran intends to establish a new restricted area near the Strait of Hormuz, which will cover parts of the Persian Gulf, as reported by Reuters.

CENTCOM stated that the attacks were a response to ballistic missiles launched by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at two U.S. Navy warships. According to CENTCOM, a U.S. aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer evaded the incoming threats, and no American personnel were injured.

“Let the IRGC hear this: if you fire at our ships, we will impose even greater economic consequences — taking out three more of yours,” said Admiral Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, in a statement issued Saturday.

“We will not hesitate to protect American forces and, if required, destroy Iran’s limited and vulnerable oil fleet.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth echoed the sentiment in a post on X, writing: “It’s straightforward: if Iran attacks U.S. Navy ships, we will destroy (and sink) their tankers. All they need to do is stop targeting @USNavy.”

As the third-largest oil producer within OPEC, Iran exported roughly 90% of its crude through Kharg Island prior to the war. Oil exports have been severely disrupted by a U.S.-led blockade initiated in mid-April.

The ongoing conflict between Iran and the U.S. has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz — a critical route for global oil supplies — since hostilities began on February 28 with joint American and Israeli airstrikes.

In June, President Donald Trump threatened to occupy Kharg Island as U.S. strikes on Iran continued. More recently, on August 31, he shared an AI-generated video depicting the destruction of Kharg Island.

Expanding sanctions

The attack on oil tankers occurred one day after the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a small Turkish investment bank and two of its subsidiaries, accusing them of supporting financing for a branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

These actions are part of broader sanctions introduced by the Trump administration in late August, targeting Iran’s access to digital currencies, advanced technology procurement, gold reserves, commercial aviation, and maritime trade.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said last month that the country’s foreign trade has declined sharply.

According to the World Bank, Iran’s GDP contracted by 2.7% in the year ending March, largely due to economic disruption from widespread protests last year and increased regional tensions. Inflation reached 62.2% in February, with food prices rising to a record high of 99%, per the World Bank. A New York Times report cited an Iranian official estimating that the war has resulted in the loss of one million jobs.

Following this week’s much hotter-than-expected August jobs report, next week’s inflation data takes on even greater importance for investors as they try to determine where the Federal Reserve could go with interest rates later this month. On Friday, nonfarm payrolls rose 162,000 last month, well above the Dow Jones forecast of 53,000, while the unemployment rate came in line with expectations at 4.1%. July and June also saw upward revisions. Stocks fell as investors recalibrated their expectations on the Fed’s rate decision when it meets Sept. 15-16. Fed funds futures pricing showed bets for a hike at that meeting grew to 58% from 49.4% the day before, according to the CME FedWatch tool. With the report supporting Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh’s recent comments that the labor market is “quite stable,” the release of August’s producer and consumer price index readings on Thursday and Friday, respectively, will serve as the final piece in the rate path puzzle for investors. “What’s been happening in the market now is that it’s the tug of war between those who are worried that the Fed will be raising rates and those who think that the Fed will remain on the sidelines,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. That focus is exacerbated by the fact that there also aren’t many other competing catalysts next week, Stovall noted. Unless Russian President Vladimir Putin suddenly says he’s going to halt the war in Ukraine or unless Iran wishes to negotiate a ceasefire agreement, he believes that traders are “going to focus on the hard data.” “They’re going to all come from Missouri and say, ‘Show me’,” he said. Yields still in play While some like Ameriprise’s Anthony Saglimbene believe the market could be overreacting to the prospect of a rate hike this month, there’s another force that could weigh on equities next week: Treasury yields. This past week, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to its highest level since November 2023. The 2-year note yield also reached its highest since January 2025. Those moves came amid a broader run-up in global bond yields, spurred in part by growing inflation fears as energy rises remain elevated from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. “Yields are becoming a larger deal for the market,” said Saglimbene, his firm’s chief market strategist. “Markets see volatility increase when longer-term rates are moving higher, and I think that is going to be an underlying issue for the market for the rest of this year.” That’s especially the case if the 10-year yield starts “moving closer to 5%,” he said. “Markets would have a difficult time with that.” The S & P 500 and Nasdaq Composite finished the week in positive territory, rising 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, on the other hand, fell about 0.3%. The market is closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday. Week ahead calendar All times ET. Monday, Sept. 7 U.S. markets closed for Labor Day Tuesday, Sept. 8 6 a.m.: NFIB Small Business Index (August) 3 p.m.: Consumer credit (July) Wednesday, Sept. 9 None. Thursday, Sept. 10 8:30 a.m.: Initial jobless claims (week ended Sept. 5) 8:30 a.m.: Producer price index (August) 10 a.m.: Existing home sales (August) 10 a.m.: Wholesale inventories (July) Friday, Sept. 11 8:30 a.m.: Consumer price index (August) 10 a.m.: Consumer sentiment (preliminary, September)

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Sunday said the U.S. may not reach an elusive deal to constrain Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, as the U.S.-Iran conflict enters its seventh month.

“There may not be a nuclear agreement. It may be simply destroying their capabilities to do it,” Wright said on ABC News’ “This Week.” “An agreement may await the next administration in Iran. We simply don’t know that.”

Trump has repeatedly said preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is a central objective of the U.S. campaign. He has also sought a negotiated deal with Iran throughout the war, which has sent energy prices soaring worldwide.

Wright’s comments suggest the administration may pursue its goal of preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon without reaching a negotiated nuclear agreement.

Pressed on whether Wright’s comments mean the U.S. will continue striking Iran when it attempts to rebuild its nuclear infrastructure, the energy secretary said, “You have to destroy their capabilities to do it.”

“We are degrading their capacity to develop nuclear weapons and ultimately to deliver them if they develop them,” he said. “It is a 47-year-long effort. This is not trivial, but the United States will get the job done and we will work in cooperation with our allies in the region.”

Asked about his comments again later during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Wright said President Donald Trump’s preference “is always to have a negotiated settlement and not use a military solution unless absolutely necessary.”

“The biggest role of our military in the region right now is to stop the export of any Iranian crude or crude-related products, natural gas, whatever,” he said. “We are strangling their economy to try to bring either a change in policy from the existing regime or a new regime.”

Iran threatens the U.S.

Iran’s “proportionate responses” to U.S. attacks are over, the country’s parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Sunday, while acknowledging the economic impact of the war.

“If they haven’t understood by now, they should understand before it’s too late that the rules of the game have changed and that from now on, any violation of Iran’s interests and security will receive a ‘faster, heavier, and more painful’ response,” Ghalibaf said in a post on Telegram.

But Ghalibaf added that alongside the military conflict, Iran faces severe economic pressures.

“Severe fluctuations in the exchange rate, inflation, unemployment, and market management are fundamental challenges that have put serious pressure on people’s livelihoods,” Ghalibaf said.

He also stressed the need to rely more on domestic production and use technology to “devise short-term and permanent solutions.”

Ghalibaf’s remarks come after U.S. forces struck three Iranian crude oil carriers. U.S. Central Command said it permanently disabled one crude oil carrier off the coast of Kharg Island and one near Jask. Another oil tanker was attacked in the Gulf of Oman.

Mohsen Rezaei, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in Sunday said Tehran plans to announce a new restriction zone outside the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported. The restriction zone will include areas in the Gulf, he said.

CENTCOM said the attacks were in retaliation for ballistic missiles the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched toward two Navy warships in the region. According to CENTCOM, a U.S. aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer successfully evaded multiple attacks, and no American personnel were harmed.

“Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost —taking out three of yours,” Admiral Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, said in a statement Saturday. “We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.”

Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth later wrote in a post on X: “It’s simple: if Iran shoots at U.S. ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers. All they have to do is not shoot at @USNavy.”

Iran is the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and exported 90% of its crude via Kharg Island before the war. Flows have been disrupted by a U.S. blockade of Iranian oil exports, which began in mid-April.

The conflict between Iran and the U.S. has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the world’s oil supply before the war began on Feb. 28 with American and Israeli airstrikes.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened in June to seize Kharg Island as the U.S. continued military strikes against Iran. Most recently, on Aug. 31, he posted an artificial intelligence-generated video of Kharg Island being blown up.

Tightening sanctions

The strike on the oil tankers came a day after the Treasury Department announced sanctions against a small Turkish investment bank and two of its subsidiaries, which the U.S. accuses of facilitating funds for an arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

The measures are part of sweeping sanctions the Trump administration launched in late August targeting Iran’s access to digital assets, advanced technology procurement, gold reserves, commercial aviation and shipping.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said late last month that the country’s trade has fallen sharply.

Iran’s gross domestic product is estimated to have contracted by 2.7% in the year ending March, according to the World Bank, citing economic disruption from last year’s widespread protests and intensified hostilities in the region.

Inflation surged to 62.2% in February, with food price inflation reaching a historical high of 99%, according to the World Bank. An Iranian official estimated that the war has caused the loss of one million jobs, according to the New York Times.