Trump Says Fresh War With Iran ‘Highly Unlikely’, Sets Condition for Peace

• Trump says renewed fighting with Iran is “highly unlikely” but ties his decision to a strong agreement ahead of talks with Qatar’s prime minister.

US President Donald Trump has said renewed fighting with Iran is “highly unlikely,” while warning that his decision depends on Tehran agreeing to a strong deal with Washington.

Trump made the remarks in an interview on Sunday, ahead of a scheduled White House meeting with Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Monday.

His comments followed weeks of threats to resume strikes and speculation that hostilities could restart after the US midterm elections.

Although Trump played down the prospect of another round of fighting, he said the decision “depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement.”

“I would if necessary, but we hit them really hard. I hit them so hard. You don’t know how hard I hit them,” he said.

Qatar’s prime minister heads to White House

Sheikh Mohammed, who also serves as Qatar’s foreign minister, is expected to discuss the situation with Trump as regional mediators continue efforts to secure a lasting end to the conflict.

Qatar and Pakistan have been involved in diplomatic initiatives for months, seeking an agreement between Washington and Tehran.

The meeting comes after Trump’s Republican Party lost control of Congress in the midterm elections. Trump has acknowledged that the unpopular conflict with Iran contributed, at least partly, to the party’s defeat.

Iran says election fallout has slowed diplomacy

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said diplomatic activity had paused while the implications of the US election results were being assessed.

“For the past few days, there has been no more travel (by mediators), and the reason for this is the shock that the election results in the United States have caused to everyone,” Araghchi said on Sunday.

“We now have to see how long it will take for them to digest these results, in order to determine how we are going to move forward,” he added.

Araghchi also linked the election outcome to public dissatisfaction with US involvement in the conflict.

In a post on X on Monday, he said Trump “clearly recognises that the vast majority of Americans are disgusted with Israel.”

“Americans are evidently sick and tired of Israel bamboozling US administrations into Forever Wars,” Araghchi said. “They had enough. So has our region.”

Trump points to economic pressure

Trump argued that military strikes and financial pressure had weakened Iran and would push its leaders towards accepting Washington’s terms.

“They’re a failing nation. It just came out, you saw this year, 301 per cent inflation,” Trump claimed. “They’re withering away financially. We’ve hit them militarily. We could finish them off.”

His inflation claim differs from Iran’s official figures, which put the annual rate at nearly 90 per cent in September.

Explosions reported on Qeshm Island

Despite the reduction in large-scale fighting, reports of fresh incidents have continued.

Iranian state television said Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz was attacked overnight on Sunday, following earlier reports of two explosions.

The supplied account did not identify who was responsible for the reported attack.

The conflict began with US-Israeli strikes in late February. Although outright fighting has largely subsided, tensions remain over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for international energy shipments.

Iran has continued efforts to blockade the waterway, while the US Navy maintains a counterblockade of Iranian ports.