Trump on Iran war: It's going to get wrapped up soon

US President Donald Trump said on Friday 30 October that he believed the war with Iran would end soon, but did not say how. "It's going to get wrapped up soon," he told Kansas City radio station KCMO, days before the 3 November midterm elections. "We need a guarantee there'll never be a nuclear weapon."

Trump repeated that the United States would not strike Iran before the elections. The Hill reported that he is weighing whether to authorise strikes after the vote, and that US Central Command has drawn up several strike options that could be used if the White House gives the order.

The war began in late February and is nearing its eighth month. The Pentagon says it has cost 47 billion dollars so far, The Hill reported.

Diplomacy is continuing. Qatari mediators travelled to Tehran to try to prevent another round of American strikes, and the Jerusalem Post reported that a senior Iranian official had rejected a Qatari draft proposal to end the war as unacceptable. The central disagreement, it said, is that Washington wants Iran's nuclear programme discussed from the outset, while Tehran wants the United States to lift its blockade of Iranian ports and sanctions on Iranian oil first.

Vice President JD Vance sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei of Iran's Supreme National Security Council to explore resuming direct talks. Iran had not yet replied, according to Tasnim news agency. Trump said the letter concerned the delivery of medical equipment. He also said Iran was in big trouble, that it was not paying its soldiers and police, and that the United States was in no rush for a deal.

Admiral Brad Cooper, who commands US Central Command, said in a video on Friday that Iran's navy had been decimated and that southern shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz were open. Iran said six commercial ships had hit sea mines in the waterway in recent days.

This report was expanded on 1 November 2026 using reporting from Reuters, The Hill and the Jerusalem Post.