Trump: no immediate Iran strike, US ready if neededWorld

The interview, reported to have lasted about six minutes, was Trump’s clearest public statement yet on the next phase of the confrontation, which has lasted for months. Trump said the US was not really in a war on the scale of other major conflicts, pointing to earlier American strikes, including the use of B-2 bombers against Iranian nuclear capability and a later operation, while arguing that the current situation did not amount to a full-scale war.

Trump also confirmed that indirect discussions with Iran were continuing, and said those talks would be allowed to run their course. Reports said the discussions cover Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, and that no deadline had been set for a deal. The president said he would not disclose any attack plans in advance, leaving open the possibility of further military action even while ruling out an immediate strike.

The timing of the interview gave it added weight. It came after reports that the US military was preparing for a possible fresh strike as early as Wednesday, and after Netanyahu was reported to be pressing for strikes soon after the midterms. By saying there was no immediate plan, Trump appeared to push back against expectations of an attack in the days immediately following the vote.

Iranian officials responded the same day, according to reports, with a senior security official saying Washington must address Iran’s conditions fully before Tehran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Mediators in Qatar were also reported to be seeking an interim agreement to build confidence between the sides, underlining that diplomacy remains active alongside the military warnings.

For now, the message from Washington is deliberately two-sided: reassurance that no attack is imminent, paired with an unmistakable warning that one remains possible. Whether that balance holds will depend on the course of the talks and on events in the region in the days after the election.