Donald Trump has accused Iran of deliberately delaying a peace agreement in the hope of securing better terms after November’s US midterm elections. Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the US president claimed Tehran was trying to run down the clock. “They thought they were going to outwait me, you know, ‘we’ll outwait him, he’s got the midterms’,” he said.
Trump insisted the strategy would fail and asserted that Iran “wants very much to make a deal”. He pointed to the Iranian economy’s struggles, including 250% inflation, as reasons for Tehran to compromise. However, he acknowledged that current talks had not yet produced a satisfactory agreement, warning that if no deal is reached, “we will just have to finish the job”.
The president also addressed the status of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy chokepoint. He rejected any proposal that would give Iran or Oman control, stating: “The strait is going to be open to everybody… or we will have to blow them up.” He added that a potential deal would reopen the waterway immediately.
Trump renewed his call for Arab allies such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar to sign the Abraham Accords, which normalise relations with Israel. He initially suggested that an Iran deal should be contingent on such signatures, but later backtracked, saying: “I don’t want to say that. I’m not going to give you what’s contingent.”
The meeting, originally planned for Camp David, was moved to the White House due to adverse weather. It comes amid falling approval ratings for Trump and rising economic pessimism as the conflict with Iran continues. Over the weekend, Trump signalled a deal was close, but US strikes on Monday reportedly killed four members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
