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President Trump said Thursday that the United States will not launch new strikes against Iran before November’s midterm elections, pointing to what he described as “productive discussions” with Tehran. “We will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd,” Trump wrote, while adding that the US naval blockade of Iranian oil exports would stay in place regardless.
The statement came less than a day after reports surfaced that the White House had directed the Pentagon to prepare renewed military options against Iran that could be executed before the election. According to those reports, US Central Command had been instructed to finalize plans for a possible campaign targeting Iranian energy infrastructure, military installations and nuclear sites, with the scale and specific targets still under internal discussion when Trump’s announcement effectively paused the planning.
The reversal follows the ceasefire reached earlier this year after the US struck Iranian nuclear sites in 2025, an uneasy truce that has coexisted with the ongoing American naval blockade targeting Iran’s oil exports. Trump reiterated Thursday that the blockade remains “in full force and effect,” even as he ruled out an imminent escalation — framing it as continued economic pressure on Tehran rather than a step back from his broader posture toward Iran.
Trump left the door open to renewed military action once the election has passed. He had previously told Time magazine that ramped-up strikes against Iran remained “possible” after the midterms, suggesting Thursday’s pledge is a pause tied specifically to the election calendar rather than a shift in overall strategy.
The timing underscores how closely Iran policy has become tied to America’s domestic political calendar. With control of Congress on the ballot in November, a fresh military confrontation in the weeks before the vote carried obvious political risk — a calculation that appears to have shaped Thursday’s announcement as much as any diplomatic breakthrough with Tehran.
