The ball is in Iran’s court as U.S. President Trump saidhas made clear his patience is not unlimited, underscoring that overwhelming naval deployments are deterrence, not warmongering. The U.S. naval buildup in the Middle East signals Washington is done with escalation and delay. This armada gives Tehran a clear off-ramp: abandon nuclear ambitions and halt the violent suppression of protesters, or face consequences that will make last year’s strikes lookappear restrained. History shows that Tehran responds to strength, not gestures, enabling serious negotiations.