Trump Says Iran 'Wants to Talk' as Washington Weighs New Strikes

President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran is still seeking negotiations and that Washington is in no hurry. His administration is weighing a renewed round of strikes on Iran after Tuesday's midterm elections, and US commanders fear those strikes could draw Iranian fire on Israel.

"There are talks. They want to talk. They keep talking," Trump told reporters at the White House. "We have time, frankly. It's a war, but it is not a typical war." He added that Tehran was failing to pay its soldiers and police. "They're in a lot of trouble," he said.

Trump also claimed the conflict was not imposing significant costs on American taxpayers. He repeated his assertion that US operations had eliminated Iran's nuclear threat. "I spent a lot of money in order to get rid of a nuclear weapon, which we've done," he said.

Earlier Friday, in an interview with Kansas City radio station KCMO, Trump predicted the fighting would soon end but offered no timetable. "It's going to get wrapped up soon," he said. "We need a guarantee there'll never be a nuclear weapon."

The Israel dimension is direct. As JFeed reported on Thursday, Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), briefed Trump in person at the White House on options for renewed strikes, The Wall Street Journal reported. Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, attended the briefing. US commanders are preparing for the possibility that new strikes trigger Iranian missile and drone attacks on American installations, on Israel and on Gulf states. Washington is also sending an additional Patriot air defense battery to Israel over concerns about interceptor stockpiles.

Trump has previously indicated he would not order strikes before the elections, but he has not ruled out action afterward. The Associated Press reported this week that US officials told several Middle Eastern countries and regional allies to prepare for renewed strikes after the vote, including possible Iranian retaliation against energy facilities and other infrastructure. Two diplomats briefed on the discussions said Trump had not made a final decision.

At sea, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that four oil tankers struck naval mines and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after ignoring Iranian warnings. It said the fourth was carrying more than two million barrels of crude. The claims could not be independently verified.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) reported two separate incidents. In the first, a vessel was hit on its port side by an unidentified projectile about 40 nautical miles south of Iran's Lavan Island, sparking a fire, though the crew was safe. In the second, a tanker was struck while leaving the strait. Omani authorities said they evacuated 25 crew members from a burning Panama-flagged tanker near Musandam. It remained unclear whether any of these vessels were among those Iran named.

Diplomacy continued in parallel. Iran's official IRNA news agency reported that a Qatari delegation, headed by a senior adviser to Qatar's prime minister, arrived in Tehran on Friday. A source familiar with the negotiations told Reuters that the Qatari effort is coordinated with the Trump administration.

Qatar presented Iran with a draft agreement on Sunday, but a senior Iranian official rejected the proposals as unacceptable. The core dispute is sequencing. Washington wants the nuclear program addressed from the start, while Tehran demands that the US first lift its blockade of Iranian ports and its sanctions on Iranian oil exports. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that Tehran was reviewing proposals that could advance an Iranian seven-day plan to end the conflict.

The Journal reported Wednesday that Vice President JD Vance sent a letter exploring renewed talks.