Trump to Israel's Channel 12: I'm in no rush to decide on the Islamic Republic

US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Israel's Channel 12 television on Monday, 2 November 2026, that he is in no rush to decide whether to resume the war with the Islamic Republic. He said US economic pressure has worn down the government in Tehran and that the Islamic Republic has no money.

Trump said indirect negotiations mediated by Qatar are going well and that Tehran wants a deal more than at any time since the war began. At the same time, he said it is unclear who makes decisions in the Islamic Republic and that the United States does not want to be deceived again.

Three views in the White House

According to Channel 12, Trump's advisers fall into three camps. One group, along with most leaders of the Persian Gulf states, prefers a negotiated deal and says a new attack would not change the situation. Another group wants the war resumed to achieve its military goals, a view also backed by Benjamin Netanyahu, who in a phone call on Saturday asked Trump to resume strikes after the US election. The third group, led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, wants the naval blockade and sanctions to continue and to wait weeks or months for the Islamic Republic to back down from its positions. Trump has not yet made a final decision.

A draft deal in circulation

Meanwhile, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters that a draft proposal for an agreement between the two sides is being circulated and that another meeting may be held. The Islamic Republic's delegation left Doha on Sunday, and Kazem Gharibabadi, the deputy foreign minister, has stayed in Doha to exchange messages. The Islamic Republic has made reopening the Strait of Hormuz conditional on an end to the naval blockade and the release of frozen assets, including $6 billion in Qatar.

Trump had earlier said he would not launch a new attack before Tuesday's midterm elections, but he has not ruled out the military option. On Sunday in Iowa he also said the Islamic Republic will either make a deal or the United States will finish the job.

Trump says time is on America's side, because the blockade and sanctions have left the Islamic Republic broke.