Will the US Strike Iran Again? Trump Says Maybe Tomorrow

President Donald Trump told reporters on Saturday that a new US strike on Iran was possible on Sunday, and that a deal was possible too. Iran’s president said the same day that his country had to leave its state of “no war, no peace”. An IRGC-linked news agency has since called a report of an Iranian Hormuz offer “a lie and fabrication”, while Iran’s ambassador in Islamabad has described such an offer.

The exchange comes nine days before the US midterms and two days before Israel votes. It follows the interim deal’s collapse and Tom Barrack’s Friday warning that strikes could resume this weekend.

Trump named a strike and an agreement in the same breath. Pezeshkian blamed Washington for the failed interim deal and asked to conclude it. Iran’s ambassador in Islamabad and Tasnim gave opposite accounts of a Strait of Hormuz offer. Barack Obama told an Ohio rally that Iran now has “veto power” over the strait.

Trump spoke to reporters after voting in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday. Asked about fresh strikes, he said, according to a report of the remarks: “Maybe tomorrow… There’s a possibility I will.” He went on: “There’s also a possibility we’ll have a nice, big, beautiful agreement.” On Iran’s intentions he said: “They want to make a deal, but the problem is, will they hold the deal?” At a campaign rally, the same report quotes him as saying: “We may do another little Epic Fury, or they’ll agree.”

Masoud Pezeshkian spoke at a ceremony in Tehran. Dawn, citing the semi-official ISNA agency and AFP, reported him as saying: “we must go and get out of the ‘no war, no peace’ situation.” Dawn added that he told state television the United States was to blame for the failed interim deal, and said: “I still think we should go and conclude it.”

On the Hormuz offer, Dawn reported that Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, told a seminar in Islamabad, in remarks carried by AP, that Tehran had conveyed through Islamabad that it would reopen the strait if Washington lifted its naval blockade of Iranian ports. Dawn said he accused Trump of rejecting the proposal by insisting the blockade would continue.

The Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya then reported that Iran had sent such an offer to Washington through Pakistan. Press TV, relaying Tasnim sources, called the report “a lie and fabrication”, and Tasnim said Tehran had made no fresh proposal to the Pakistani mediators.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said in Baghdad on 18 October, in the same report: “Our situation is clear and based on the seven-days proposal presented to the US.” Of Washington’s reply he said: “They shared comments which we are reviewing.”

Obama spoke at the Cleveland Public Auditorium on Saturday evening. Al Jazeera quoted him as saying: “Most importantly, he decided to start an unnecessary war that nobody asked for.” He added: “Iran now has veto power over the Strait of Hormuz, where oil goes through to get to the world.”

The ambassador in Islamabad says an offer was conveyed. Tasnim says no fresh proposal was sent. Araghchi said on 18 October that the seven-day proposal stood and that Washington’s comments were under review. The ambassador and Araghchi describe a channel that is open. Only Tasnim denies one.

Trump’s lines arrived together: “Maybe tomorrow” and “a nice, big, beautiful agreement” in one exchange, then “another little Epic Fury, or they’ll agree” at the rally. Pezeshkian answered with “I still think we should go and conclude it”, after blaming Washington for the failure of the last deal.

The Israeli calendar sits beside them. Netanyahu told Army Radio on 14 October, as the Times of Israel reported, that an attack in the coming days was “not convenient for us”, with the election due on 27 October. Channel 12 reported that he had urged Trump to renew the fighting before the vote, and the Prime Minister’s Office denied it. Silent Dossier set out the post-midterms question earlier, and the running record is on the Iran and US talks tracker.

Obama’s remark about the strait was made to an Ohio rally. The blockade is the condition the ambassador named for reopening it.

Sunday is the day Trump named. A strike would end the talk of an agreement. A quiet Sunday leaves the Islamabad channel, the blockade and the seven-day proposal where Saturday left them. Israel votes on 27 October and Americans on 3 November. If the strait is the price of the blockade, the first sign will be a ship, not a statement: the Hormuz status tracker shows transits and any change in the blockade.