Trump tells advisers he may not attack Iran as long as it doesn’t provoke US, sources say

US President Donald Trump has told senior advisers in recent days that he may hold off on attacking Iran if the US faces no new provocations from Tehran or the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Trump has alternated between threats of escalating the war with new strikes and winding down hostilities, and current and former officials say he does not appear to have made up his mind about how to resolve the unpopular conflict, which he launched on February 28 with Israel.

But in meetings with his national security advisers and after a series of intelligence briefings, Trump said he was considering holding off on strikes, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He has also indicated sympathy for allies in the region who have asked him not to return to a full-fledged war.

“I could end it immediately, but at the request of the nations that I am looking to protect, we are doing it [in] a little bit longer way, a bit more civilly,” Trump told sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith on Thursday.

The war has hiked global fuel prices and proven unpopular with US voters, who handed control of Congress to the Democrats in last week’s midterm elections. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken shortly before the November 3 elections, 55% of Americans said the war was not worth the cost, and Vice President JD Vance cited it as the reason Trump’s Republicans lost Congress.

Q: If the Iran crazies are still in power when you leave office, will that have been a defeat for you?

Trump: Yes, that would be a defeat. Absolutely. pic.twitter.com/Lr68MhPRim

— Clash Report (@clashreport) November 12, 2026

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Trump’s private comments build on public remarks playing down the likelihood of major warfare resuming.

“As Commander-in-Chief, President Trump is the architect and sole decision-maker who holds all the cards and will always ensure that America’s interests are protected,” a White House official said in a statement. “The United States is in a very strong position with control of the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian economy collapsing. Only President Trump knows what he will do, and when.”

The CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to requests for comment.

Calls with Saudi Arabia and Turkey

In phone calls over the past two weeks, Trump asked for opinions from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who both urged him not to resume attacks on Iran, according to a senior US official and another person familiar with the matter. They said Trump made no commitment either way.

Trump told bin Salman on October 31 that he was planning to attack after the midterm elections, but the crown prince pleaded for him to hold off, arguing that economic sanctions against Iran were working, according to two more people familiar with the discussion.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump has spoken with Erdogan three times since October 28, according to Turkey’s presidency. An official readout from the November 7 call stressed that tensions between Iran and the US need to end.

US intelligence agencies have assessed that the US naval blockade and economic sanctions are hurting the Iranian economy and would continue to put pressure on Tehran, two US officials briefed on the intelligence said.

Building on its months-long blockade of Iranian sea traffic, the US military is also seeking to prevent weapons and other sanctioned material from entering the country by land or through the Caspian Sea, Reuters first reported last week.

Qatar-mediated talks between Washington and Tehran have continued despite significant gaps between the sides. Officials familiar with the negotiations told The Times of Israel that Iran remains unwilling to transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium abroad, but is prepared to discuss down-blending the material under UN supervision. Tehran is also seeking billions of dollars in sanctions relief and war reparations, demands Washington has rejected.

Additionally, Tehran wants to charge tolls for certain vessels, such as military ones, that pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which the US rejects, the official said.

Negotiators nevertheless believe an interim or final agreement remains possible.

One of the officials, however, said such hopes were dashed when Trump publicly ordered Vance to stop dealing with the file, as he has been one of the administration’s leading advocates for a diplomatic solution.

A second official said Vance was concerned by Netanyahu’s near-daily calls to Trump urging him to resume the war, with the vice president feeling that the Israeli prime minister has repeatedly offered bad advice and incorrect predictions on how the war would play out.

Military options

Three people familiar with US planning told Reuters the US military was ready to escalate if needed.

A third aircraft carrier is moving into the Middle East in the coming days to replace one of the two currently operating in the region, but all three carriers could stay if needed, the people said.

Trump could opt to bomb Iran’s underground nuclear facilities, one of the people familiar with Trump’s calls with the Saudi and Turkish leaders said. But the US has already struck those facilities, and it is unclear whether further strikes would be successful.

US intelligence agencies have assessed that renewed strikes would not significantly shift Iran’s demands in negotiations, two US officials said.

Trump was briefed on US weapon stockpiles, some of which have drawn down to worrying levels, the two people familiar with the intelligence briefings said. Reuters reported in August that the US had used “virtually all” of its long-range precision munitions, and another person briefed on the matter said they have not been replenished.

“The United States Military has enough munitions and ammo to serve all of the Commander-in-Chief’s strategic goals and beyond,” the White House official said.

Three tankers hit in Hormuz

Iran’s navy and Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday that fires had broken out on a total of three oil tankers that struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz, where Tehran has restricted navigation.

Iran has imposed restrictions on vessels seeking to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and has attacked ships it says violated those restrictions, as it seeks to assert control over the strategic waterway and exert pressure on the US.

“A short while ago, two oil tankers that had switched off their radar and positioning systems and were secretly attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz through an unauthorized route exploded and caught fire after striking a naval mine,” the Guards’ navy said in a statement on the incident in the south of the waterway, carried by the Iranian state broadcaster early on Saturday.

BREAKING: FOOTAGE OF ANOTHER TANKER THAT WAS JUST STRUCK IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ FOR USING AN UNAUTHORIZED ROUTE pic.twitter.com/0AQvWWEPvu

— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) November 14, 2026

A separate statement from Iran’s conventional navy said another tanker “navigating through the unsafe and prohibited zone east of the Strait of Hormuz with its tracking and identification systems switched off, caught fire and was forced to stop after striking a naval mine.”

The statements did not provide the names or origins of the vessels, but the Guards said one of those hit in south Hormuz was a supertanker.

Attacks on shipping have intensified in recent weeks. At least 10 vessels were hit in the first 10 days of November, after 37 attacks in October — the highest monthly total since the war began, according to ​data from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Trump said Thursday that he would not hesitate to renew strikes if the situation began “going the other way,” even as he claimed the US “totally” controlled the Strait of Hormuz. He also said he would consider it a defeat if Iran’s current regime remained in power at the end of his term.