US President Donald Trump has told his top administration envoys to halt their conversations with Iran, according to a US official, CNN reports.

Additionally, White House officials have recently communicated to political allies that they are shifting their strategy—going from “hammer Iran ASAP” to “strangle them” over time, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Officials said Tuesday that Trump’s instruction to his negotiating team—which includes Vice President JD Vance and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner—to not engage with Tehran came after some “positive discussions” with Iran.

But Trump has still been unsatisfied with Tehran’s unwillingness to bend to his demands, the officials said.

And behind the scenes, Trump has grown displeased at the emerging contours of the arrangement Iran is attempting to strike with Oman on managing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, according to people familiar with the matter.

The US is expected to soon slap crushing new sanctions on Iran, perhaps as early as this week, US officials have said.