U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One as it departs the White House for Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, en route to Fort Myers, Florida, on the South Lawn of the White House on October 23, 2026 in Washington, DC, USA.
Evan Vucci | Reuters
US President Donald Trump says he is deciding whether to “make a deal” or “end a deal” with Iran as investors consider rising tensions across the Middle East.
“Can we get it done very easily or do we make a deal? It’s time to make a decision,” Trump said in a Fox News interview on Sunday.
Qatari mediators, who have played a key role in efforts to negotiate a deal between Washington and Tehran, visited Tehran on Sunday, Reuters reported. The move follows a weekend of attacks on Saudi Arabia by Iranian-backed Houthi militants.
The last confirmed US attack on Iran was on September 1st. President Trump previously said the attacks would not resume until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The Iranian government said it was preparing a military response to any attack by the United States.
President Trump said in an interview Sunday that a potential U.S. target could be Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried ruin linked to Iran’s nuclear program.
“You could read a badge on someone’s shirt from space, right? We know exactly what’s going on at Pickaxe Mountain. We know three other[nuclear facilities]have disappeared,” Trump said.
Trump also reiterated his claim that the United States controls the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global trade and a major flashpoint in the conflict, citing oil flows back to pre-war levels.
Nevertheless, energy prices are still rising amid turmoil and a tightening of global oil refining.
Both the U.S. and Iranian governments have repeatedly asserted control over this route, with overall trade flows remaining severely constrained and influencing consumer prices.
Earlier this month, a Singapore-flagged container ship burst into flames after being hit by an unidentified projectile and sank in the Strait.
Earlier this month, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Naval Chief Ali Ozmaei said Iran was ” biding its time ” until it could sink the U.S. warship.
Regional powers seek talks with Iran
Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan meet with Iranian leaders in Tehran on Monday
The three countries signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement in August, pledging closer defense cooperation and stipulating that an armed attack against one member state would be considered an attack against all members.
The group’s meeting will be the first since Houthi missiles and drones targeted facilities across Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh’s airport and the administration building of oil giant Saudi Aramco.
Last week, Saudi Arabia postponed its flagship Future Investment Initiative conference until 2027 due to security concerns following a spate of deadly attacks.
