Fed's Hammack said he does not expect inf to fall on its own.

Georgetown University professor Mehran Kamrava says US–Iran negotiations are progressing very slowly. Tehran is trying to exert economic pressure on regional neighbors—Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait—to push Washington to negotiate, while the US is simultaneously tightening economic pressure on Iran. Both sides are unwilling to initiate talks. Kamrava is skeptical that US economic pressure will succeed: although Iran faces severe economic strain, its repressive political system prioritizes regime survival over middle‑class hardship, and decades of US pressure have neither toppled the government nor materially changed Tehran’s behaviour, so the strategy’s effectiveness is uncertain.

Aug 10 — The Congressional Budget Office estimates the U.S. federal budget deficit for the first 10 months of fiscal 2026 at $1.8 trillion, $169 billion wider YoY as receipts rose $139 billion (3%) while outlays rose $308 billion (5%).