Donald Trump stated that military action against Iran is not currently necessary

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday, 9 November 2026, that he believes the war against Iran has effectively ended from a military perspective. According to a report by The Hindu, during this impromptu meeting in the White House briefing room, President Trump stated, "Iran has been militarily effectively destroyed. We are just maintaining the status quo."

President Trump further added that Iran has been "decapitated", but he still wants to ensure a long-term solution to neutralise Iran's nuclear programme. This statement is among the most decisive comments regarding his shift away from threats to re-attack Iran following the conclusion of the US midterm elections.

Trump stated in his news conference that "positive momentum" is being seen towards ending the war, although he did not provide any details in this regard. He clarified, "Military action does not seem very necessary right now, but we are fully prepared and if the reason changes, we will take action."

Earlier on Sunday, 8 November 2026, in a telephone interview with CNN, Trump had stated that as long as the US sees progress in negotiations with the Iranians and they sign a "strong agreement", there is "very little possibility" of attacking again. Nevertheless, he warned that the US has identified infrastructure targets in Iran, including 38 bridges, which would be attacked if military action were to resume.

On the other hand, the US military has carried out at least two limited strikes on targets including Iran's air defence systems in the last week. Additionally, on Saturday, 7 November 2026, the US fired upon and disabled a commercial vessel. The US claims that this vessel was attempting to breach the naval blockade imposed on Iranian ports.

During this sequence of events, Trump's Republican Party lost both houses of Congress to the Democrats in the midterm elections held in the US. These elections were held amidst American voter dissatisfaction with the eight-month-long war. This war has caused a major surge in fuel prices, which has affected almost every sector of the global economy.

Before making this statement, President Trump had met with the Prime Minister of Qatar on the same day and subsequently appeared before reporters in the White House briefing room.