US President Donald Trump has said that he is going to keep Iran under a naval blockade until the regime agrees to a deal that addresses US concerns about its nuclear programme.

Iran had earlier made a proposal to first open the Strait of Hormuz and lift the blockade, while postponing nuclear talks to a later stage.

Trump told Axios in an interview, he saw the blockade as "somewhat more effective than the bombing." 

Meanwhile, US Central Command (CENTCOM) has prepared a plan for a "short and powerful" wave of strikes on Iran in hopes of breaking the negotiating deadlock, Axios said quoting three sources with knowledge.

After the strikes, which would likely include infrastructure targets, the US would press the regime to come back to the negotiating table and show more flexibility, the report said.

In his Truth Social account, Trump gave a hint of the likely attack posting an AI-generated meme of himself holding a gun with a warning to Iran and the tagline, "NO MORE MR. NICE GUY."

"Iran can’t get their act together. They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon!", he said in the post.

Trump, however, declined to discuss any military plans in Wednesday's phone interview.

"The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing. And it is going to be worse for them. They can't have a nuclear weapon," Trump told Axios.

He claimed that Iran wants to reach a deal in order to lift the blockade. "They want to settle. They don't want me to keep the blockade. I don't want to [lift the blockade], because I don't want them to have a nuclear weapon," Trump added.

The President added that Iran's oil storage and pipelines "are getting close to exploding" because Iran can't export oil due to the blockade. 

Meanwhile, Trump and some of his top aides met with energy executives at the White House yesterday to discuss measures that could be taken to continue the blockade of Iranian ports for months, if needed, and how to limit the effects on consumers, CNN said.

Crude rises further

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, is up 5% at $116.8 a barrel, extending a week-long rally. WTI, the US benchmark, is up 4.9% at $104.8 a barrel.

Supply concerns have been exacerbated by the apparent deadlock in talks between the United States and Iran.