Trump says US is 'locked and loaded' on Iran but has no immediate strike plans after midterms

Speaking to the Financial Times on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said indirect negotiations with Iran are yielding results and that the US is 'not really in a war' with Iran, even as American forces in the Middle East stand ready to launch major military operations against the country within 96 hours of a presidential order.

We seem to be getting everything we want.— Donald Trump, US President

CNN reported that US officials confirmed enough forces are now in place in the region to conduct potential strikes, and that any new operations would likely be far broader in scope than the limited, easily-reconstituted target strikes that have defined US action since Trump ended full combat operations earlier this year.

It will be a big effort.— unnamed US official

Pentagon and US Central Command leaders have developed a wide-ranging target list that includes Iranian energy infrastructure, military sites and nuclear facilities, according to CNN. Some current and former US officials familiar with internal planning discussions said they view a major strike as a question of when, not if — though most believe it would come before the end of the year, likely after the midterms.

The Department is a planning organization, and its job is to develop and execute military options ordered by the President.— senior Pentagon official

Trump's public posture, however, has shifted toward de-escalation. On Monday he told reporters he was not weighing strikes on Iran after the midterms, and in the FT interview he cited Operation Midnight Hammer as having 'wiped out their nuclear potential incapacity,' along with follow-on strikes that included one called 'Epic Fury.' Iran's enriched uranium stockpile, buried beneath 'hundreds of tons of rock,' he acknowledged, remains an unresolved issue in the talks.

Even though it's under hundreds of tons of rock, I would say that I'm not happy that it will be there. We'll see how that all works out.— Donald Trump, US President

Indirect talks between Washington and Tehran have been conducted through Qatari mediators in Doha, with Iranian officials meeting with Qatari intermediaries for three consecutive days. On Sunday, Vice President JD Vance said there had been 'a number of good conversations with the Iranians' and that both he and Trump felt 'pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement.' A letter Vance sent to Iran regarding negotiations was described by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as 'a positive step,' the Wall Street Journal and Al Jazeera reported.

Iran's side, however, struck a more cautious tone. According to Reuters, a senior Iranian official said Tuesday that the two countries remain well short of any agreement. Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, citing the US midterm election results in which Democrats routed Republicans, posted on X that 'Americans said NO TO WAR.'

Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message.— Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's chief negotiator

Trump himself acknowledged the Iran conflict played a role in the Republican midterm defeat, telling Fox News: 'I think a part of it was Iran.' He also said voters 'didn't like it' when petrol prices rose.

On the ground, the situation in and around the Strait of Hormuz remains volatile. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said four oil tankers struck naval mines and caught fire while attempting to pass through what Iran described as a 'prohibited passage' south of the strait. Two other vessels were halted, and the Guards said they shot down a drone over the strait. CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper visited the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, flying over it by helicopter and meeting with service members who had cleared Iranian mines from the waterway.

We continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Gulf partners and the shipping industry. This visit underscores our strong commitment to continued freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.— Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander

US intelligence has assessed that Iran and the Houthis are taking the possibility of renewed US and Israeli strikes seriously and would retaliate immediately if targeted — hitting American personnel and facilities across the region and potentially beyond. CNN reported that an unclassified memo dated October 23, sent by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, stated that 'Iran has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel' and that such plotting 'have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries.'

In anticipation of potential escalation, the US Embassy in Riyadh is under ordered departure, and additional American diplomatic facilities across the region are expected to receive similar directives or be scaled back under a personnel cap. Nonessential US military personnel due to rotate into the Middle East have been told they are no longer being deployed. Flight-tracking data cited in media reports pointed to an uptick in US military cargo flights arriving in southern Israel, and Washington is reportedly restocking THAAD and Patriot anti-missile batteries there.

In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted three drones targeting Saudi territory — one over the Mecca region, one in the Eastern Province, and one heading toward the southern region. The Houthi group in Yemen claimed responsibility for drone and ballistic missile strikes on an airport and an airbase in southwestern Saudi Arabia. The Indian Embassy in Riyadh confirmed Wednesday that an Indian national who suffered critical injuries in the October 10 attack on Riyadh airport had died in intensive care.

One US official acknowledged to CNN that the status quo around the Strait of Hormuz is 'untenable' for the long term — a signal that even if Trump steps back from an immediate strike order, the underlying pressure for a resolution, military or diplomatic, is not easing.

Why it matters — The gap between US military readiness for a major Iran strike and Trump's public diplomatic signals means the risk of sudden escalation — with immediate consequences for oil prices, regional stability and American personnel across the Middle East — remains live even as talks continue.

Sources differ on Whether the US is preparing an imminent strike on Iran: US forces are ready to strike within 96 hours of a presidential order and some officials say it is a question of when, not if. (lapost.com) vs Trump told the Financial Times the US has no immediate plan to strike Iran and that negotiations are yielding results. (jpost.com)

Sources differ on Progress of US-Iran negotiations: Trump said 'we seem to be getting everything we want' and VP Vance expressed optimism about a negotiated settlement. (jpost.com) vs A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran and the US are far from reaching a deal. (jpost.com)

Reported by jpost.com, reuters.com, ft.com, gulfnews.com, lapost.com