Trump Warns: We May Be Forced to Launch Devastating Strike on Tehran

Despite ongoing negotiations between Iran and Qatari mediators aimed at reaching an agreement to halt the war with the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his threat to resume strikes against Tehran. Speaking at a campaign rally, he said he might be forced to launch a “devastating strike” against Iran at an unspecified time. Trump added before supporters at a campaign rally in Iowa on Sunday evening, ahead of the midterm elections scheduled for Tuesday, “The only reason I haven’t finished with Iran yet... is that I want to be nice. I want to try to save all those lives if I can... But at some point, we will have to deliver a devastating blow to them.”

In response, Iran warned yesterday that any new war with the United States could be longer than the previous conflict, asserting that Washington would not have the final say in determining its end. Iranian Army spokesperson Mohammad Akbari Nejad stated, according to Iranian state television, that “any future war could last longer than the previous one, and the U.S. president would not be in a position to dictate its timing or conditions for ending it.”

For his part, Iranian Defense Minister Mehrdad Ahladi threatened a “proportional, decisive, and impactful” response to any attack targeting his country. Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson Hossein Makki said, according to him, that “in any conflict with America, there will be no geographical restrictions, as targets have been widely designated to inflict losses on the enemy.”

Prior to these statements, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned the United States and Israel in a statement published on his Telegram channel on Saturday against launching new attacks, issuing orders to respond “without geographical restrictions” to American and Israeli threats. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi expressed hope that “the other side would exercise rationality and choose diplomacy,” referring to the United States. He affirmed that his country is “ready for both defense and diplomacy.”

A U.S. official and an Israeli official revealed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the U.S. president to strike Iran immediately after the conclusion of the U.S. congressional midterm elections, while Trump preferred allowing negotiations to continue their course.

The war erupted on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran, which retaliated by targeting countries in the Gulf region. In April, a ceasefire agreement was reached, ending nearly 40 days of intense bombing. In June, a protocol agreement was signed aiming to put an end to the conflict. However, the agreement completely collapsed this summer following Iranian threats against ships in the Strait of Hormuz. In response, the United States imposed a blockade on Iranian ports in an attempt to pressure its economy.