President Donald Trump said that he will not order a resumption of military strikes on Iran before the November 3 midterm elections in the United States.
Mr Trump, while supporting Republican candidates this week, has hinted he was confident that at endgame to the war could come in the days before or after the election, while also saying he remained open to resuming full-scale military operations against Iran.
But Mr Trump, in a social media post on Thursday, said the US “will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd”.
Mr Trump added that his team has been “having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
Negotiations had appeared at a standstill since Mt Trump late last month publicly rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the US met certain conditions.
Iran, however, said last week they had received a US counter-proposal. And foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday said he expected Tehran would offer a formal reply within days.
Mr Trump’s post comes as the military has dispatched more resources to the region.
US officials have said a third aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and thousands of troops aboard it and accompanying ships could arrive as early as the end of October.
Mr Trump’s announcement was made the same day the USS Abraham Lincoln was due to arrive to its home port in San Diego after a record-long deployment in support of the Iran war.
There have been reports of crew stress and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages, including food and hygiene products.
The USS George Washington, which is usually based in Asia, relieved the Lincoln in August.
The other aircraft carrier in the Middle East, the USS George HW Bush, has been deployed for about six months, but it pulled into Phuket, Thailand, for a port visit several days ago.
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