Trump says he will hold off on Iran strikes unless provoked

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 14 Nov, 14:19 · Archive

Trump is considering holding off on new military strikes against Iran unless Tehran or its proxies provoke the US.

President Trump has told senior advisers he may refrain from resuming military strikes on Iran, despite repeatedly threatening to attack the country. Trump said he would hold off on launching new strikes as long as Iran or its Houthi proxies in Yemen do not provoke the US, Reuters reported. A week earlier, Trump confirmed US attacks on Iranian defense facilities on Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz, which he described as 'minor strikes'.

Trump told a sports journalist that he was holding off on further strikes at the request of regional allies, saying 'I could end it immediately, but at the request of the nations that I am looking to protect, we are doing it a little bit longer way, a bit more civilly.' Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Federalist Society that the war was 'militarily effectively over' and that economic pressure on Iran's regime was now the focus. 'The economic pain that we are inflicting on that regime is so great that there's no need for military action because we've weakened them so much,' he said.

The US maintains a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz which is choking off Iran's economy. On-and-off negotiations through Qatari and other intermediaries have yet to produce results.

How it is being reported

• Trump weighs holding off on new Iran strikes unless Tehran provokes USPresident Trump is weighing whether to hold off on fresh military strikes against Iran unless Tehran or its Houthi proxies provoke the US, according to Reuters, as Saudi Arabia and Turkey urge restraint and tensions simmer in the Strait of Hormuz.New York Post · 14 Nov, 14:01
• What's Trump's strategy now with Iran? To keep things as they areTrump says "status quo" is what Gulf Arab allies want as Iran war hits stalemate and midterms force pivot from threats of attacks to economic pressureNPR · 13 Nov, 19:02

In this story: Trump · Iran · Saudi Arabia · Turkey · Marco Rubio · Yemen · Strait of Hormuz · Qatar

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log