President Trump said Sunday that he is deciding whether to make a deal with Iran or step up the war. He made the remarks in a Fox News interview, as investors weigh rising tensions across the Middle East 1.
Do I finish it off, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal? It's getting to be decision time,
The last confirmed U.S. strikes on Iran were on Sept. 1. Trump has said strikes would not resume until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections 1. Asked about an attack, he said there would not be one "today," though he first suggested it would be foolish to telegraph his plans 2.
Pickaxe Mountain named as possible target
Trump said a possible U.S. target is Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried site linked to Iran's nuclear program 1. He said the U.S. knows the other three nuclear sites are "obliterated" 1. Iran says it is preparing a military response to any U.S. attack 1.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, said Tehran has not closed the door to diplomacy and that messages are still passing to Washington through intermediaries 2. He said the U.S. keeps demanding "complete surrender," which he said no Iranian accepts 2. Negotiations have appeared to stall for weeks 2.
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Hormuz and the price at the pump
Trump repeated that the U.S. controls the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane, and said crude oil flows have returned to pre-war levels 1. CNBC reports that Washington and Tehran have both claimed control of the route, and that overall trade there remains severely curtailed 1. Energy prices remain elevated amid the disruption and a global refining squeeze 1.
That matters because the war, which began in February, has now run about eight months 2. Families feel it in fuel and consumer prices, and the voters who will decide the midterms are watching both 12.
Regional diplomacy and attacks continue
Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are meeting Iran's leadership in Tehran on Monday 1. Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief Gen. Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin are to attend, according to Iran's Ali Bagheri Kani 2. Qatari mediators visited Tehran on Sunday 1.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a ballistic missile that Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired toward Riyadh 2. Earlier Houthi strikes closed Riyadh's main airport for more than two weeks, and Saudi Arabia postponed a major investment conference until 2027 12.
What happens next is unclear. Trump has not said when he will decide, and Tehran says it expects new U.S. strikes whatever the election results 2.
The Record
Sources
- CNBC, “Trump says he'll soon decide whether to 'make a deal' with Iran or 'finish it off'” (2026-10-26). cnbc.com/2026/10/26/us-iran-war-hormuz.html
- CBS News, “Trump says he's weighing deal with Iran vs. action to "finish them off"” (2026-10-26). cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-us-oil-gas-prices-st
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