U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he no longer wants a deal with Iran, as reports described discussions inside his administration about potentially restarting large-scale military operations in the coming weeks. The shift leaves diplomacy uncertain: Trump said Iran was willing to offer concessions, while Iranian officials have rejected U.S. claims about the state of negotiations. Any renewed campaign could also put energy infrastructure and nuclear sites in focus, according to a separate report.
Trump shifts his position on negotiations
Speaking at a campaign rally with Republican candidates in San Antonio, Texas, Trump said an agreement was not something he particularly wanted, while adding that Iran was prepared to offer substantial concessions to avert further action. He also praised Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, saying Witkoff had been handling the deal effort well.
The comments contrast with Trump’s earlier public signals that negotiations were progressing. The current account does not establish that talks have formally ended, but it does show the president publicly distancing himself from an agreement even as his envoy continues working on one. That leaves uncertainty over whether diplomacy remains an active route to de-escalation or is being overtaken by military planning.
Reports point to possible military escalation
NBC News reported Wednesday that Trump and his national security team had discussed the possibility of restarting large-scale U.S. operations in the coming weeks. Its account cited a U.S. official and another person with knowledge of the discussions; it did not establish that a decision to launch strikes had been made.
Axios reported that a possible return to armed conflict could involve extensive attacks on Iranian energy, infrastructure and nuclear targets. The report also linked the potential timing to the upcoming midterm elections. These are reported scenarios, not a confirmed military order, but their disclosure raises the stakes around Trump’s rejection of a deal and the prospects for renewed fighting.
Iran disputes Washington’s account of the talks
Earlier this week, Trump said Washington’s main difficulty was not knowing who was directing Iran during discussions aimed at ending the conflict. Iranian officials disputed that description. Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeli Baghaei said the problem was the opposite, pointing to inconsistent positions and mixed messages from U.S. officials.
The competing accounts leave the status of diplomacy unclear. The source material does not identify a confirmed next meeting or a settled negotiating framework. That matters because a durable agreement would depend on both sides being able to identify who can negotiate and what commitments would be required, while public disagreement over those basics makes progress harder to assess.
Oil flows recover, but prices remain high
Oil prices have stayed elevated even as exports from the Middle East have recovered close to pre-war levels, according to Kpler. Combined crude flows exiting the Gulf, excluding Iran, together with volumes from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, were around 18.5 million barrels per day—the pre-conflict level cited in the source material.
Matt Wright, Kpler’s lead freight analyst, said shipping normalisation no longer had to wait for a deal. He described continued recovery as likely to be slower and uneven, with operators adapting rather than waiting for diplomacy to provide a trigger. The distinction matters to markets: restored flows do not by themselves mean the conflict has ended or that oil prices have returned to normal.
Domestic pressure adds to the stakes
The source material says Trump’s approval ratings have fallen to a record low amid concern about high living costs, including soaring gasoline and diesel prices. It provides no rating figure or price series, so the scale of either change cannot be quantified here. Still, household fuel costs make the economic consequences of instability and military escalation politically salient.
The midterm election context connects those domestic pressures to the reported military discussions, but the material does not show that election considerations have determined policy. For now, Trump’s public stance, Iran’s denials and reports of strike planning point to an unsettled mix of diplomacy and possible force, with oil-market recovery offering no assurance of a political resolution.
Takeaway: Trump says he no longer wants an Iran deal, while reported military planning and conflicting accounts of talks leave both diplomacy and regional oil stability uncertain.
References
- time.com — “Iran Denies Talks With the U.S. Are Back On. Trump Insists They Are”
- BBC — “Trump claims deal to end Iran war near as Tehran says 'nothing' finalised”
- UA.NEWS — “Trump says he no longer wants a deal with Iran — CNBC”
- The New York Times — “Iran War Updates: Trump Puts Off ‘Final Determination’ on Iran Proposal – The New York Times”
- cnbc.com — “Trump insists Iran talks are underway despite Tehran's denials”
