What did Donald Trump say about the likelihood of renewed U.S. fighting with Iran?

Trump told CNN that renewed hostilities were “highly unlikely” to be necessary if talks progressed. He said, however, that the decision depended on whether Iran signed a very strong agreement and that he would resume fighting if necessary.

Why did Abbas Araghchi say Iran’s peace talks with the United States had paused?

Araghchi said mediator travel had stopped for several days because the U.S. election results had shocked everyone. He said Iran needed to see how long it would take for the results to be absorbed before deciding how to proceed.

How has Iran’s partial blockade of the Strait of Hormuz affected U.S. consumers?

The restriction has dented oil supplies from the Gulf, and the article says that has driven up gasoline prices in the United States. Trump also linked the war’s unpopularity to the higher prices.

Trump says resumption of war with Iran 'highly unlikely'

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Summary

U.S. President Donald Trump said in Washington on Sunday that renewed fighting with Iran was “highly unlikely” if talks progressed, but said any decision depended on whether Iran signed a strong agreement. He argued that economic pressure could push Iran to accept a peace deal on U.S. terms. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said mediator travel had paused as Iran assessed the fallout from the U.S. election. Iran’s partial blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has dented Gulf oil supplies and contributed to higher U.S. gasoline prices.

Key Facts

Trump said the United States had hit Iran hard and could “finish them off” if necessary.
Trump claimed Iran had 301 percent inflation and was “withering away financially.”
Araghchi said there had been no mediator travel for several days because of the shock caused by the U.S. election results.
The article says the war was at least partially responsible for the Republican Party’s defeat in Tuesday’s vote, according to Trump.
Iran’s partial restriction of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has reduced oil supplies from the Gulf and contributed to higher gasoline prices in the United States.

By AFP

Published Nov 9, 2026 7:51 am KST

U.S. President Donald Trump, with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, speaks during an event to sign executive orders related to birthright citizenship and the polysilicon industry, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Aug. 6. Reuters-Yonhap

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday cast doubt on renewed fighting with Iran, telling CNN that it was "highly unlikely" so long as talks progressed.

In recent weeks, Trump has threatened to renew strikes with U.S. media reports suggesting that hostilities could resume after the U.S. midterm elections this week.

"The answer is highly unlikely it's going to be necessary... I would if necessary, but we hit them really hard. I hit them so hard. You don't know how hard I hit them," Trump said, while warning that any decision to resume hostilities "depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement."

Trump previously acknowledged that the highly unpopular war with Iran was at least partially responsible for the stinging defeat that his Republican Party suffered in Tuesday's vote.

In the CNN interview Sunday, Trump once again suggested that the economic pressure Iran is under will force its leaders into accepting a peace deal on the United States' terms.

"They're a failing nation. It just came out, you saw this year, 301 percent inflation," Trump claimed. "They're withering away financially. We've hit them militarily. We could finish them off."

But earlier on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi suggested peace talks had been paused while the political fallout of the Democratic Party's landslide victory was 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 told state television. "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."

Iran continues to at least partly block traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which has dented oil supplies out of the Gulf. That, in turn, has driven up gasoline prices in the United States, contributing to the unpopularity of the war.

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