Asked About Striking Iran After the Midterms, Trump Answers 'No' — and Says a Deal 'Could Happen'
The president who had hinted at renewed attacks sounded a different note on Election Day eve, as Iranian negotiators wrapped a third day of talks in Doha.
President Donald Trump raised doubts on Monday about whether he would follow through on a threatened resumption of military strikes against Iran, telling reporters he is not considering strikes after Tuesday's midterm elections — and that a deal with Tehran could happen.
Asked after his speech at the Washington Reflecting Pool whether he was considering striking Iran after the midterms, Trump replied 'no,' Reuters reported. He said he believed Iran wanted to make a deal and that such an agreement 'could happen.' Vice President JD Vance reported 'a number of good conversations with the Iranians,' adding, in Reuters' account, 'the president and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement. We're going to keep on working at it.'
Trump held his bottom line in the same remarks: 'We're not going to allow Iran ever to have a nuclear weapon, and they understand that. They've understood that and they've said it even recently,' he said. He also insisted the operation was not actually a war because 'we've done very little fighting' recently, after sweeping strikes months ago in which Iranian leaders were killed.
The shift lands on Election Day eve with the war's economics on voters' minds: Reuters notes the Iran war is a leading cause of the high gasoline prices weighing on voters, and that Iranian negotiators were in Doha on Sunday for a third consecutive day of talks with Qatari mediators — the diplomacy this station's morning file carried, with a draft proposal circulating and the Strait of Hormuz offered back on a two-day timeline.
