Trump Says Future Strikes on Iran ‘Highly Unlikely’ If This Happens

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that renewed airstrikes on Iran are “highly unlikely” if negotiations continue moving in a positive direction.

During a 20-minute phone interview with CNN, he said five times that if the Iranian regime continues participating in peace talks, there will be no need for further military action.

US President Donald Trump has offered his clearest indication yet that intensified diplomacy could avert another major round of fighting with Iran, in the wake of his party’s disastrous midterm election results.

Trump told CNN on Sunday that renewed US military attacks are “highly unlikely” if Tehran makes progress toward an agreement on its nuclear program and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. He also told CBS’ “60 Minutes” that he was “not looking to” escalate the war.

Iran and the United States have quietly been negotiating a sensitive agreement that could avert a return to all-out war and open the door to broader talks.

But hopes of a deal are being tempered by Washington, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying Sunday that he “wouldn’t say we’re on the verge of a breakthrough.” Trump has also made clear the military option remains on the table.

Both sides and Qatar, which is mediating, have revealed little about the discussions even as diplomatic activity has accelerated since Tuesday’s midterms.

President Trump signals that U.S. strikes against Iran remain unlikely if negotiations move forward, even as tensions escalate in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump is preparing to meet with Qatar’s prime minister in the Oval Office as mediators push for a deal addressing Iran’s nuclear program and attacks on regional shipping. Meanwhile, U.S. forces are enforcing maritime restrictions, and Iranian leaders are warning of severe retaliation if Washington rejects their proposal to end the conflict. | @foxandfriends @TreyYingst Download the FOX News app for the latest details: https://t.co/BAyV31y5kz

— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 9, 2026

Rubio suggested that talks have not been productive “because the Iranian demands are simply not just unacceptable, but in some cases outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic.”

Reuters reported that Trump is set to meet with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the White House on Monday. 

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who is both prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar, will meet Trump and Vice President JD Vance in Washington later on Monday after having visited Tehran last week.

Iran’s proposal to end ⁠the war involves an end to the US blockade of its ports, the lifting of some sanctions and a halt to bombing in return for Tehran stopping its own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, with talks on its nuclear programme and other sanctions to follow.

The US has repeatedly rejected that plan, which Iran has said could be condensed to a two-day timeframe, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing Tehran’s conditions on Sunday as “outrageous and ridiculous and really not realistic”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded by highlighting Republicans’ midterm losses. “American voters have made their choice. Time for the White House to make its own,” he said. 

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Monday defended Iran’s demands. “Is it unreasonable that Iran demands that US illegal sanctions and its naval blockade must be lifted before negotiations start and that the war should end on all fronts?” he asked.

U.S. forces carried out limited strikes on Iran at least twice in the past week and on Saturday. “If there’s a clear and present threat to shipping or to our forces in the region, we have a right to defend ourselves,” Rubio said.

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