US President Donald Trump attends a campaign rally for Republican US Senate candidate Ken Paxton at Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas, US, October 7, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
President Donald Trump made the unusual move of announcing that the United States will not attack Iran "at any time prior to the Midterm Elections," which take place Nov. 3.
Trump made the pledge Thursday in a Truth Social post. He said the United States is in talks with Iran.
He added that a U.S. blockade against Iran would stay in force.
"We are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran," Trump wrote.
"I want to make it clear to everybody that, while Iran is in very bad condition, both Economically and Militarily, and while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect … we will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd," Trump continued.
"22 Million Barrels, last night alone, with not one barrel coming from, or going to, Iran!" Trump wrote, claiming oil is moving through the Strait of Hormuz in "Record Numbers of Barrels."
"IRAN WILL NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!" the president added.
Trump has tied the end of the war to the midterm elections as its political cost mounts, Al Jazeera reported last month.
"This war will end immediately after our election," Trump told reporters on Sept. 9, Al Jazeera reported. He claimed Iran was stalling to get a more favorable political climate in the United States.
"I'm not affected by the election. Number one, I'm not running, but my party's running, and I'm going to help my party," Trump said a week earlier, The Hill reported.
Privately, Trump has told aides he views renewed U.S. bombing after the midterm elections as likely, The Wall Street Journal reported in late September, citing U.S. officials, according to CNBC. The report said Trump also rejected Iran's conditional offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
"They made a proposal but I rejected it," Trump told reporters that day, CNBC reported.
Seventeen Republican lawmakers and candidates have broken with Trump to call for an end to the war, ABC News reported in late September, as diesel prices have jumped nearly 60% since the conflict began at the end of February.
A CNN poll cited by ABC News found 73% of Americans disapproved of how Trump was handling the situation in Iran.
"The war with Iran needs to end and end quickly. When it does, energy costs will plummet," Michigan Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers, one of the Republicans who broke with Trump, said in a campaign ad, according to ABC News.