President Donald Trump appeared to dismiss the possibility of returning to an all-out war with Iran, telling CNN’s Jim Sciutto he believes it is “highly unlikely” as long as there is progress through negotiations.
The president said the decision to return to major military conflict between the U.S. and Iran hinges on “whether or not they sign a very strong agreement.”
“Most likely it will not be necessary,” Trump said of continued fighting. “They want to make a deal so badly.”
Trump repeatedly said Iran was “withering away” both financially and militarily on the roughly 20-minute call with Sciutto, CNN reported Sunday, but added that the U.S. forces in the Middle East are prepared to strike at any moment.
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“I would, if necessary,” strike them again, Trump said, “but we hit them really hard. I hit them so hard. You don’t know how hard I hit them.”
U.S. and Iranian officials have not had direct talks in months after negotiations this summer failed to reach an agreement to end the war, leaving indirect negotiations as the chief method of communication between the two countries.
Iran sent a new proposal to Washington through Qatari mediators on Thursday, which included a list of seven conditions that the U.S. needs to meet before Iran will agree to any discussions. Some of Iran’s terms include lifting U.S. sanctions and war reparations, Reuters reported last week.
In the days after the midterms, Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance, have cited the Iran war as a significant factor in Democrats’ sweeping successes across the country.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi urged the U.S. to accept his country’s terms and move forward with Iran’s accelerated plan to end the war, citing the American midterm results.
“American voters have made their choice. Time for the White House to make its own,” Araghchi wrote Sunday on X. “Our 2-day proposal stands: meet the requirements, including end to war on all fronts, and you will see results.”
Trump announced a temporary pause in U.S. strikes on Iran on Oct. 8, and the ceasefire was supposed to last through the midterms — though limited, defensive strikes on Iranian targets resumed shortly before Election Day.
The brief lull in larger-scale military strikes follows several intense campaigns. U.S. forces hit Iranian targets for 13 straight nights in July and launched major attacks on Iranian facilities in September. U.S.-Iranian hostilities have persisted throughout the conflict’s fluctuations, most notably through naval blockades and exchanges of fire in the Strait of Hormuz — leading to severe spikes in global oil prices.
U.S. Central Command’s Adm. Brad Cooper unveiled the Iron Gate Task Force on Saturday to specifically reinforce “the success of our ironclad blockade against Iran at sea.” The task force will consist of a mix of approximately 20 civilian and military personnel based in CENTCOM’s Tampa, Florida, headquarters.
Trump has repeatedly asserted that Iran must not have a nuclear weapon, and U.S. military efforts do not appear to have strayed from that course. On Friday, CENTCOM announced $20 million compensation and “possible relocation” for individuals that provide tips about Iran’s nuclear program “including its facilities, equipment, and associated personnel, such as those in the scientific community, or the movement of any of the above.”
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