Trump Says U.S. Is "Not Finished with Iran" as Midterm Voting Takes Place

President Donald Trump said at a campaign event that the United States is "not finished with Iran," and that the only reason is that he wants to "try and save all those lives," according to The New York Times. The remarks came as Americans cast ballots in the midterm congressional elections on November 3.

The statement sits within a debate over whether the United States could return to military action against Iran. In early October, Trump said the United States would not attack Iran before the November elections, and he described talks with Iran as productive, according to Reuters. Later that month he said the United States may conduct another military operation against Iran. On November 2, when reporters asked whether he was considering strikes on Iran after the midterms, he replied "no," Reuters reported.

Those public comments have been set against separate reporting. The New York Times reported in October that the U.S. and Israeli militaries have developed specific plans for renewed strikes against Iran after the midterm elections, according to its October 21 report. Trump said on October 30 that he believed the war with Iran would end soon.

Diplomacy is also under way. Iranian negotiators continued talks in Doha, Qatar, for a third day on November 1 in an effort to end the U.S.-Iran war, an official told Reuters.

The elections will determine control of Congress. Republicans entered the vote holding a 218-214 edge in the House of Representatives and a 53-47 majority in the Senate, based on Reuters' pre-election overview.

The administration's approach to Iran has taken several formal steps this year. In February, the White House published a fact sheet titled "President Donald J. Trump Addresses Threats to the United States by the Government of Iran." On March 2, Trump said, "Our objectives are clear. First, we're destroying Iran's missile capabilities," and its capacity to produce them. On October 16, the White House issued an executive order implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, a law that sets up economic penalties, known as sanctions, which restrict trade and financial dealings with the targeted countries.

In an April interview with CNBC, Trump warned of catastrophic consequences if the Iranian threat was not confronted, as published by the White House.