In brief
On Nov. 2, President Trump announced he may abandon a threatened resumption of attacks on Iran after the U.S. midterms, citing ongoing talks with Tehran and a desire for a negotiated deal. Vice President John D. Vance echoed the optimism, stressing the need for verifiable limits on Iran’s nuclear program while warning that kinetic options remain on the table. The development follows a February 28 exchange of strikes between Israel and the U.S. and a month‑long flare‑up that has raised gasoline prices and political pressure in the United States.
On Monday in Washington, President Donald Trump denied that the United States would proceed with a new campaign of military strikes against Iran, following a speech at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Trump said he had reviewed the threat he had previously hinted at after the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday and now considered that a negotiated settlement could happen, though he stressed that Iran must not acquire a nuclear weapon.
"We’re not going to allow Iran ever to have a nuclear weapon," Trump said. "They understand that, and they have said it even recently."
After Israeli and U.S. forces struck Iranian targets on February 28, Iran retaliated against U.S. and Israeli interests in the region, and gasoline prices in the United States rose, a factor that has placed political pressure on Trump, who is facing potential voter backlash.
Iranian negotiators have been in Doha since Sunday for a third consecutive day of talks with Qatari mediators, aiming to secure a deal that could end the current six‑month conflict.
Vice President John D. Vance told reporters on Monday that Washington had made "progress" in talks with Tehran and that President Trump and himself feel "pretty good" about arriving at a negotiated settlement. He added that kinetic and non‑kinetic options remain available if the negotiations fail.
"The Iranians are always a little unpredictable, and as the president always says, he retains kinetic options. He retains non‑kinetic options, but we’ve certainly made some progress. We’ll see if we can make some more," Vance said.
Vance emphasized that the United States wants a verifiable commitment from Iran not to rebuild its nuclear program and that no deadline had been set for such an agreement. He noted that the U.S. has destroyed Iranian nuclear infrastructure and that the next step is to prevent a rebuild.
"Having destroyed their nuclear program, we want to make sure they don’t rebuild it or try to rebuild it. That’s what matters most to the United States," Vance said.
Trump also mentioned that the U.S. is not currently engaged in a full‑scale war with Iran, citing the limited number of strikes. He remarked that the operation was not a war and that the U.S. has done little fighting, referencing earlier strikes that targeted Iranian leadership.
Question marks remain over whether the Trump administration will actually pursue the threat of renewed strikes if negotiations stall, and when, if at all, a deadline might be imposed. The administration has not yet announced any specific timeline, but the possibility of a new strike campaign has loomed since the February attacks.
In addition, the impact of the conflict on domestic fuel prices continues to be a factor in U.S. politics. As the conflict’s toll on gasoline climbs, Washington faces pressure to resolve tensions quickly, while also ensuring Iran’s nuclear non‑proliferation commitments are firmly established.
Overall, the current state of the Iran‑had voted bad lines via on neph abroad from nine months, and the future path hinges on both sides’ willingness to make binding commitments and the willingness to continue to engage in diplomacy over the next weeks.
