President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival to the White House, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will not order a resumption of military strikes on Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections in the United States.

Trump, while stumping for Republicans this week, has hinted that he was confident that an endgame to the war could come in the days before or after the election, while also hinting that he remained open to resuming full-scale military operations against Iran.

For weeks, Trump has been threatening that a post-midterm election escalation in the seven-month-old war remains a viable option, despite his initial promises to Americans of a military campaign that would last a matter of weeks.

But Trump in a social media post on Thursday said the U.S. “will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd.”

Trump added that his team has been “having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The U.S. and Iran signed a short-lived interim agreement in June, intended to establish a 60-day ceasefire and framework for a permanent peace deal.

The deal signed by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian collapsed within weeks amid renewed military actions and disputes over control of the Strait of Hormuz, the critical water which one-fifth world’s oil flowed through before the war.

Negotiations had appeared at a standstill since Trump late last month publicly rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen the strait within seven days if the U.S. met certain conditions.

Iran, however, said last week they had received a U.S. counterproposal. And Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier on Thursday said he expected Tehran would offer a formal reply within days.

Trump on Wednesday during a campaign rally in San Antonio, Texas, said that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has continued indirect negotiations with Iranian officials.

But at the same time, Trump suggested he had mixed feelings about ending the war at this point.

“I think the deal isn’t really something that I want to do, but they’re willing to offer us anything to stop,” Trump said.

Trump believes that the U.S. is gaining leverage as the U.S. military is having greater success in helping oil tankers traverse the Strait of Hormuz and get Gulf allies’ oil to market, while a Navy blockade is shutting down Iran’s own oil exports.

Iran has lost its near chokehold over oil flows through the vital waterway with U.S. Central Command shepherding oil tankers through the strait at night with their location systems turned off.

That with the help of Gulf pipelines that skirt the strait, has allowed Gulf countries to export oil at nearly prewar levels.

But Iran has ramped up attacks on tankers passing through the strait in recent days. And overall, ship traffic remains well below prewar levels, as are shipments of liquid natural gas and fuel products.