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'Maybe tomorrow': Trump says US could strike Iran again as soon as Sunday, or strike a deal
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the US President kept both options open, questioned whether Tehran would honour any agreement and said that either way, America wins.
Key points
- Asked about new strikes on Iran, Trump said "Maybe tomorrow", while holding out hope of a deal.
- He doubted Tehran would keep an agreement, asking "will they hold the deal?"
- Sailors on the USS George Washington strike group were reported to be loading munitions on Saturday.
President Donald Trump has said the United States could launch fresh strikes on Iran as early as Sunday, while leaving the door open to what he called a “nice big beautiful agreement” with Tehran.
Asked by reporters on Saturday whether new attacks were coming, he said: “Maybe tomorrow.” He went on: “There’s a possibility I will. There’s also a possibility we’ll have a nice big beautiful agreement.”
He refused to be pinned down. “Do you really think I’m going to tell you if I’m going to do it?” he asked.
A deal Iran may not keep
Mr Trump said Iran’s leaders wanted an agreement but doubted they would stick to one. “They want to make a deal. But the problem is, will they hold the deal?” he said.
He argued that halting the campaign after the earlier B-2 bomber raids would have let Iran rebuild its nuclear programme, and said his aim was to make the result permanent. “The question is, do we finish that, which would not be difficult, or do we make a deal with them?” he said, adding that the choice lay with Tehran. “Either way we win.”
At an election rally in Georgia earlier, he repeated that he had “terminated” the 2015 nuclear deal, the JCPOA, and claimed that Operations Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury had “obliterated” Iran’s enrichment capacity.
Signs of preparation
The remarks came as sailors aboard the USS George Washington carrier strike group were reported on Saturday to be loading munitions and readying aircraft. Separately, US Central Command was said to have follow-up plans for renewed strikes ready, pending White House approval, with several options put before Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, some of them for after the 3 November midterm elections.
A Pentagon official said the department’s job was to develop and present options to the president, and that it does not speculate about hypothetical or future operations.
Mr Trump had earlier signalled that he would not attack Iran before the midterms, so Saturday’s “maybe tomorrow” marked a sharper tone just over a week before Americans vote.
Tehran’s position
Iran has denied reports that it offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in return for an end to the US naval blockade. Its army chief, Major General Ali Abdollahi, has said US warships would not be allowed into the Gulf “under any circumstances”.
For India, the stakes are high. Air India and IndiGo have already suspended flights to parts of Saudi Arabia after Houthi missile attacks, and any new round of strikes on Iran would add to pressure on oil prices and shipping routes that carry much of the country’s crude imports.
No decision had been announced by Sunday afternoon, India time.