Donald Trump: we are not negotiating with the Islamic Republic; it will be over soon

US President Donald Trump told reporters on the evening of Wednesday, 21 October 2026, after returning from a campaign rally in South Carolina, that he did not think the United States was negotiating with the Islamic Republic. The remarks follow DIAR's earlier report on his speech in South Carolina.

Trump said the Islamic Republic issue would be resolved "one way or another" and fairly soon, adding that most people think this will happen after the US midterm elections. He called the government in Tehran crazy and said that if it were not, life in America would be very different.

The Strait of Hormuz and the naval blockade

The US president called the Strait of Hormuz the "Strait of Trump" and said the United States has it under blockade. According to him, the United States could leave the region right now, but wants to make sure the blockade continues for a long time. Trump also claimed that inflation in Iran had reached 301% "as of this morning"; according to the latest official figures from the Statistical Centre of Iran, point-to-point inflation for the month of Shahrivar (August–September) was 89.8% and annual inflation 73.6%.

At the South Carolina rally he also said that if the Islamic Republic obtained a nuclear weapon it would use it within a day or even an hour, and guaranteed that the regime would never get an atomic bomb. Trump called the Islamic Republic the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism and said its enrichment capability had been destroyed in Operations "Midnight Hammer" and "Epic Fury".

Background: Tehran dragging out the talks

Trump's remarks came just after three senior Islamic Republic officials said Tehran had deliberately prolonged negotiations with the United States to weaken the US president before the midterm elections on 3 November. At the same time, reports point to a new US and Israeli strike plan being prepared for after the US elections.

In his South Carolina speech Trump had said the US operation against the Islamic Republic would end soon. His open rejection of negotiations, together with the reference to the period after the elections, shows that Washington has set aside reliance on a diplomatic solution with the Islamic Republic.

Donald Trump rejected any negotiations with the Islamic Republic and said the US naval blockade must continue for a long time.