Trump: "No Immediate Plans for Further Attacks on Iran... Ready to Respond if Necessary"

U.S. President Donald Trump said he has no immediate plans to attack Iran, pushing back against speculation that the United States would expand its military strikes on Iran after the midterm elections.

Reuters-Yonhap News

In an interview with the Financial Times (FT) on Nov. 3 local time, President Trump indicated that he was largely satisfied with the current standoff with Iran. However, he stressed that he was prepared to take further military action if necessary.

In a phone interview lasting about six minutes, he said, "I think we're getting everything we want." Asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strong suggestion that there could be an attack on Iran later this week, he replied, "I'm ready, and we're ready. We're fully prepared to act immediately if necessary, but there may be no reason to do so."

The interview between President Trump and the FT took place hours before voting ended in the U.S. midterm elections. Voters' concerns about energy prices and inflation, which surged after President Trump's decision to wage war on Iran, emerged as major issues in the election. President Trump has claimed that energy prices will fall sharply after the midterms.

He told the FT that more crude oil was currently passing through the Strait of Hormuz than before the war, and that the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports was effectively putting pressure on Iran's economy. President Trump described the situation as "very good."

He also claimed that the United States was not actually at war with Iran. "We're not really at war. We attacked Iran with B-2 bombers and completely eliminated its nuclear capabilities. We attacked again afterward through operations such as 'Epic Fury,'" he said. "But when you think about it, we haven't been in a real war with Iran for quite a long time. Six months, maybe longer." He added, "I don't think of the current situation as a war like the war in Ukraine, World War I or World War II."

While stressing that he would not disclose plans for military strikes in advance, President Trump said indirect talks were continuing over what to do with the roughly 1,000 pounds (about 454 kg) of enriched uranium held by Iran. He calls the enriched uranium "nuclear dust."

"I don't like the fact that it's still there, even if it's buried under hundreds of tons of rock," President Trump said, explaining that it was "one of the issues we're discussing with Iran." He added, "We're having discussions, and we'll see what the outcome is."

The FT said President Trump spoke in a relatively calm tone during the interview. It analyzed this as suggesting that, at least temporarily, his attention was focused more on the midterm elections than on his role as commander in chief of the U.S. military. Although he answered questions about Iran, he appeared more interested in discussing the prospects of a Republican victory in the midterms. The FT noted, however, that if President Trump's optimistic forecast of a Republican victory proved wrong, his stance toward Iran could change as abruptly as it had before.

Meanwhile, President Trump said he was optimistic that peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia were also making progress. "I think both sides are at the point where they can say, 'Let's make a deal,'" he said. The Ukrainian negotiating team, however, does not share his optimism.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.