US President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States is having productive discussions with Iran and will not launch an attack on the country before US midterm congressional elections in November.
“We are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. He said the US blockade of Iranian ports remains in effect and that oil is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.
“We will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd,” Trump said.
The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran in February and the war — and its $3 billion monthly price tag — has become a key issue on the US campaign trail.
Trump has repeatedly said he expected oil prices to drop sharply after the elections, but high gas prices and the Iran war are weighing heavily on Republican candidates and threatening their congressional majority.
Iran and the US have exchanged proposals in recent weeks aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy shipping route. Trump rejected Tehran’s latest offer.
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Michelle Nichols)