Trump giving diplomacy ‘every chance’ before more strikes on Iran, says Mike Waltz

US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said on Sunday (May 10) that President Donald Trump is continuing to pursue diplomacy with Iran despite ongoing tensions and sporadic military exchanges in the Gulf.

Waltz said the decision on whether to resume military action rests entirely with Trump.

“[It is] up to President Trump as commander-in-chief to determine what constitutes a violation, when to go back to military action or when to continue to give diplomacy a chance,” Waltz told ABC News.

The comments came after Trump said the ceasefire with Iran had not been broken despite both sides exchanging fire around the Strait of Hormuz.

“When the mediators, in this case Pakistan, ask us ... to give this negotiation another chance before we go back to bombing Iran, then I think that's completely an appropriate choice for President Trump to make,” Waltz said.

“He is giving diplomacy every chance we possibly can before going back to hostilities.”

Iranian state media reported Sunday that Tehran had submitted its response to the latest US ceasefire proposal through Pakistani mediators, though details of the response were not disclosed.

Speaking on Fox News, Waltz accused Tehran of threatening global economic stability.

“We cannot and the world should not tolerate an Iranian regime that is trying to choke off the entire world's economy, hold everyone hostage because of a dispute over its nuclear program,” Waltz said.

He accused Iran of deploying sea mines and targeting commercial shipping routes.

“It cannot start just throwing sea mines indiscriminately out into the ocean, attacking shipping,” he added.

Waltz also claimed Iranian state television had discussed targeting undersea communication infrastructure.

“They've even now started talking about it on Iranian state TV of taking the undersea cables that move financial data, cloud information, and all kinds of important economic information in and out of the gulf,” he said.

“We have over 70 co-sponsors of this latest UN resolution focused on sea mines, the tolling and the other illegal and unacceptable actions by Iran,” he said.

He defended the administration’s timeline for diplomacy, arguing that the crisis reflects decades of unresolved tensions with Tehran.

“I think we should take a step back — 50 days to deal with a 50-year-old problem,” Waltz said.

“This isn’t the first time Iran has either threatened or actually done this.”

The current draft reportedly does not directly address Iran’s nuclear programme, though negotiators are expected to discuss Tehran’s enriched uranium stockpile during follow-up talks.

The Trump administration has repeatedly stated that preventing Iran from acquiring the capability to build a nuclear weapon remains a central objective.

Iran, however, continues to insist that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes and denies seeking nuclear weapons.

Iranian state media said Sunday that Tehran had delivered its response to the US proposal for a possible end to the war through Pakistani mediators, though no details of the reply were disclosed.