Fifty-five percent of Americans said the military conflict with Iran was not worth the cost in a poll released shortly before the November 3 midterm elections.
US President Donald Trump has told senior advisers that he may hold off on attacking Iran if Tehran or the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen launch no new provocations, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Trump launched the military conflict alongside Israel on February 28.
Trump asked for opinions from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in phone calls over the past two weeks, a senior US official and another person familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.
Both leaders urged Trump not to resume attacks. Trump told bin Salman on October 31 that he planned to strike after the midterms, but the crown prince argued that economic sanctions were working and pleaded for him to hold off, according to two more people familiar with the discussion. Turkey’s presidency said that an official readout from a November 7 call emphasized that tensions between the US and Iran must end.
Trump signaled sympathy for those regional warnings during a media appearance on Thursday. “I could end it immediately, but at the request of the nations that I am looking to protect, we are doing it [in] a little bit longer way, a bit more civilly,” Trump told sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith.
Vice President JD Vance cited the unpopular war as the reason Trump’s Republican party lost control of Congress to the Democrats in the midterm elections, according to Reuters. A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed 55% of voters viewed the conflict as a waste.
Qatar-mediated talks between Washington and Tehran continue despite large disagreements, officials familiar with the negotiations told The Times of Israel. Iran remains unwilling to transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium abroad but is prepared to discuss down-blending the material under United Nations supervision.
At the same time, naval confrontations have escalated in a critical maritime chokepoint. Iran’s navy and Revolutionary Guards announced on Saturday that fires broke out on three oil tankers after the vessels struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
At least 10 vessels were hit in the first 10 days of November, following 37 attacks in October, according to data from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy cited by The Times of Israel.
“A short while ago, two oil tankers that had switched off their radar and positioning systems and were secretly attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz through an unauthorized route exploded and caught fire after striking a naval mine,” the Guards' navy said in a statement.
“Only President Trump knows what he will do, and when.” a White House official said in a statement.”
