US President Donald Trump has dismissed the likelihood of another military confrontation with Iran, describing a fresh outbreak of hostilities as “highly unlikely” ahead of his scheduled talks with Qatar’s prime minister at the White House on Monday.
Although Trump has repeatedly threatened further military action in recent weeks, he told CNN on Sunday that another round of attacks was improbable. However, he maintained that Washington’s position would depend on Tehran’s willingness to accept a strong agreement.
His comments followed reports by US media outlets suggesting that military operations could begin again after last Tuesday’s midterm elections.
“I would if necessary, but we hit them really hard. I hit them so hard. You don’t know how hard I hit them,” he said.
Trump is due to receive Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, at the White House on Monday.
The meeting will be his first engagement with a foreign leader since the Republican Party suffered a significant electoral defeat, resulting in the loss of its control of Congress.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, indicated that diplomatic negotiations had been put on hold as parties assessed the consequences of the US election outcome.
Speaking to Iranian state television on Sunday, Araghchi said:
“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,” he added.
War blamed for Republican defeat
Trump has acknowledged that the military campaign against Iran, launched through US-Israeli airstrikes in late February, played a role in his party’s disappointing performance at the polls.
Araghchi said on Monday that the American president was aware of widespread public anger towards Israel.
“clearly recognises that the vast majority of Americans are disgusted with Israel.”
In a separate statement on X, the Iranian foreign minister accused Israel of repeatedly influencing American administrations to engage in prolonged wars.
“Americans are evidently sick and tired of Israel bamboozling US administrations into Forever Wars,” Araghchi said on X. “They had enough. So has our region.”
During his CNN interview, Trump also argued that Iran’s deteriorating economy would eventually push its government to accept American demands.
“They’re a failing nation. It just came out, you saw this year, 301 per cent inflation,” Trump claimed. “They’re withering away financially. We’ve hit them militarily. We could finish them off.”
However, official Iranian data recorded annual inflation at nearly 90 per cent in September, considerably lower than the figure Trump cited.
In another development, Iranian state television reported that Qeshm Island, situated in the Strait of Hormuz, was struck overnight on Sunday. The report came hours after the state-run IRNA news agency announced that two explosions had occurred on the island.
Qatar, Pakistan and other regional governments have spent months attempting to negotiate an end to the conflict, but their efforts have not secured a lasting settlement.
While major military exchanges have reduced considerably, Iran continues its attempts to restrict movement through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passage for global oil and gas supplies. Meanwhile, the US Navy continues to enforce restrictions on Iranian ports.
AFP
