Trump weighs resuming strikes on Iran after midterm elections
US President Donald Trump has signalled he’ll pull back from resuming the war against Iran after the midterm elections.
He’s flipped between restarting strikes and pushing for peace while on the campaign trail, but after a speech in Washington DC on Monday (Tuesday AEDT), he indicated he may be willing to halt further military operations.
US President Donald Trump made his final pitch to voters from in front of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. AP
Asked by journalist if he was considering military operations against Iran after the midterms, Trump replied “no”, reported Reuters.
The US president was speaking as a fresh diplomatic push raises hopes Washington and Tehran will reach a lasting peace agreement to end the conflict that erupted on February 28.
Official statements from the Iranian regime and the Trump administration show both sides have been putting out peace feelers.
Iran’s state media reported on Tuesday that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had authorised the country’s leaders to pursue further peace talks, according to Bloomberg.
Khamenei has not been seen publicly since the opening strikes by Israel and the US on February 28 killed his father, the previous supreme leader.
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Mehdi Ghasemi/Wana News Agency/Reuters
US Vice President JD Vance, speaking in Washington the same day, said American officials had a “number of good conversations” with Iran.
“Look, the president and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement. We’re going to keep on working at it,” said Vance.
Optimism about a potential Middle Eastern peace agreement flowed through to oil markets this week.
The price of a barrel of Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 7 per cent to $US104 on Monday, the latest yo-yo move for oil prices.
Trump, during his speech on Tuesday, claimed success for stabilising fuel prices, but also reiterated his fundamental demand that Iran not be allowed a nuclear weapon.
Global oil prices have fallen on hopes the US will not resume strikes on Iran. Buena Vista Images/Getty
“We’re not going to allow Iran ever to have a nuclear weapon, and they understand that. They’ve understood that, and they’ve said it even recently,” he said.
But reports from Israel, which joined the US in launching strikes on Iran, threatens to put a fly in the ointment for peace hopes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing for another wave of strikes on Iran, according to reports.
A return to full-scale war with Iran could help Netanyahu to form an emergency government after he and his far-right allies lost their parliamentary majority in last week’s elections.
One official from a Middle Eastern government said Netanyahu was working with senior figures in the US administration to persuade Trump to launch a quick but extensive air campaign and that the president does not appear to have made a decision.
But other US allies in the region fear renewed American attacks on Iran would destabilise the region and could lead Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen to step up their attacks on Saudi Arabia and Red Sea shipping.
- With The Associated Press
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