Trump says he will not attack Iran until the U.S. midterm elections.

WASHINGTON.– U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that his country will not attack Iran before the midterm elections on November 3, although the U.S. blockade remains in effect, and described the ongoing talks with Tehran as productive. "We will not attack Iran at any time before the midterm elections, which will be held in the United States on November 3," he wrote on Truth Social. "We will hold productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran," Trump said, adding that the country is in "very bad shape" economically and militarily. Trump said the U.S. blockade will remain "in full force and effect," and stated that 22 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz overnight Wednesday, but none to or from Iran. He concluded: "IRAN WILL NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!" Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz have dropped sharply in recent days, and that according to preliminary data four million barrels passed through that route on Tuesday, less than the weekly average of 15 million barrels per day in late September. Before the United States and Israel launched their joint military campaign against Iran on February 28, an average of 21.6 million barrels of oil passed daily through the strait in the last quarter of 2025, representing about one-fifth of global oil consumption, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Shifting stance Trump's public stance regarding the elections has changed over the past month. On September 2, while the United States was exchanging fire with Iran for the first time in weeks, he declared that the elections did not "affect" him, adding that he was not on the ballot, though he intended to help his party. A week later, before addressing the Republican convention in Dallas, he said he expected the war to end almost immediately after the vote and accused Tehran of holding out in the hope that a change of power in Congress would give it a free hand to develop nuclear weapons. President Donald Trump arrives to deliver a speech at the U.S. Institute of Peace, in WashingtonJulia Demaree Nikhinson - AP Amid these ups and downs, a Reuters/Ipsos poll in late September revealed that only about a third of Americans approved of the attacks on Iran and that Trump's approval rating among Republicans had dropped from 82% to 73% in one week. For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with his Iranian counterpart, Massoud Pezeshkian, and promised to "do everything possible" to help end the conflict in the Middle East. "We are ready to do everything in our power to contribute to resolving this situation," Putin said ahead of a regional summit in Turkmenistan, adding that Iran had made "real efforts to end the war." Putin highlighted the "positive evolution" of relations between Iran and Russia, which have strengthened their diplomatic and military ties since Moscow launched its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022. Vladimir Putin greets Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during a summit in TurkmenistanSERGEI BOBYLYOV - POOL The two leaders met ahead of the summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) — a group of former Soviet republics — in the resort city of Avaza, on the shores of the Caspian Sea. The two presidents had last met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan in September. Kyiv and Western countries accuse Iran of supplying Russia with Shahed drones and short-range missiles to launch against Ukraine. In turn, they accuse Russia of providing targeting data to Iran for its attacks on U.S. interests in the Middle East. AFP and Xinhua agencies War in the Middle EastDonald TrumpIran