'Do I Make a Deal, or Do I Finish Them Off?' Trump Weighs Iran's Offer as Regional Talks Open in Tehran
Iran says it will reopen Hormuz if the U.S. lifts its naval blockade. U.S. officials suggest the war could last another year.
President Trump said on Fox News on Oct. 25 that he is weighing whether to make a deal with Iran or “finish them off,” adding there would be no strike “today” but not ruling out future action, CBS News reported. Two days earlier he said the U.S. could take Iran’s oil and “end it very quickly.”
Officials sent mixed signals on timing. U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said a strike could “absolutely” happen that weekend, while CBS also reported that Trump had said strikes would wait until after the Nov. 3 midterms. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz said the war could last another year.
Iran is signaling it wants a deal on its terms. Its ambassador to Pakistan said Oct. 24 that Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. lifted its naval blockade and accused Washington of rejecting the offer. Iran’s foreign ministry said messages were still passing through intermediaries. Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan were scheduled to hold security talks in Tehran on Oct. 26, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was reported to be traveling to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin.
The war began Feb. 28. A Pakistan- and Qatar-brokered interim deal in June aimed to restore shipping and start nuclear talks but did not hold. Inside Iran, AP reported rice prices up more than 60% and beef more than 150% since the war began.
Why it matters. Peace through strength means negotiating from a position of leverage, and the blockade is leverage. The question for Americans is whether any deal verifiably ends Iran’s nuclear program and its attacks on shipping, or simply pauses them.
The other side. Critics in Congress argue the president has no clear endgame and that a strike risks a wider war; supporters say pressure is working and Iran is coming to the table.
Open questions. What came out of the Tehran regional talks, and whether any strike or deal comes before or after Election Day.
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