Trump Says Further Strikes on Iran Unlikely if Tehran Signs 'Very Strong' Deal

President Donald Trump said the chances of additional military strikes on Iran are very low if Tehran reaches what he called a very strong agreement in nuclear talks with the U.S.

Bloomberg reported on November 8 that Trump, in a phone interview with CNN, said any further strikes on Iran would depend on whether it signs "a very strong agreement." He added that the likelihood of another attack is "very low."

He did not rule out military action entirely. "If necessary, we will strike," Trump said. "But we already delivered a very strong blow to Iran."

Trump also cited the war with Iran as one reason Republicans lost the U.S. midterm elections held on November 3. The war, which began in late February with U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, drove up global oil prices and gasoline prices in the U.S. Trump has maintained that military action was unavoidable to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Attention has returned to diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran since the midterm elections. Qatar, which has mediated between the two countries, recently said Iran is reviewing a proposal related to its nuclear activities. Trump also recently spoke by phone with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, about ways to ease tensions.

Iran, however, struck a cautious tone on prospects for progress in the talks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the state-run IRNA news agency on November 8 that there had been no activity or movement by mediating countries in recent days after the U.S. election.

Araghchi added that it remains to be seen how long the U.S. will take to absorb the midterm election result and what direction it will take next.