Trump says no to renewed Iran strikes after midterm elections
11:27, 03/11/2026, Tuesday
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US President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday he was not considering renewed military strikes against Iran following Tuesday's midterm elections, insisting that diplomatic efforts were progressing despite pressure from allies who had urged immediate action after the polls.
US President Donald Trump on Monday explicitly ruled out launching renewed military strikes against Iran after Tuesday's midterm elections, telling reporters that diplomatic efforts were progressing even as allies pressed for immediate action against Tehran's nuclear program.
Campaign trail stance
Speaking at a campaign event in Washington, Trump responded "No" when asked whether he was considering renewed strikes following the elections. He urged voters to keep his administration's efforts to prevent Iranian nuclear weapons in mind "when they go into the voting booth," insisting that Tehran would never obtain such capabilities. "We stopped that a year ago with those beautiful B-2 bombers, which hit every single mark and just put hundreds of tons of rock on top of everything," Trump said, referencing previous operations against Iranian facilities.
Diplomatic timeline
In a separate interview with Axios, Trump said he was in no rush to resume direct military action against Tehran despite ongoing tensions. "One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush," he told the outlet, suggesting that diplomatic arrangements were "coming together very nicely" and linking progress to falling energy prices. "That's why I guess the oil prices drop so precipitously," he said, claiming that US pressure had severely weakened Iran's economy. "We crippled them financially. They have no money, no gasoline and their people are getting very tired of it," Trump added.
Allied pressure
Trump's remarks followed reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Washington during a Saturday phone call to launch immediate military strikes after the midterm elections. The president instead decided to allow diplomatic negotiations to continue despite concerns raised by Netanyahu, according to Axios. Trump said communications with Tehran were "going fine," although he accused Iranian negotiators of deliberately prolonging discussions, noting that "there's less urgency (on the Iranian side) than you think there would be, but they want to make a deal more than they ever wanted."