{"id":448356,"date":"2026-05-27T21:10:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T21:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/448356\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T21:10:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T21:10:15","slug":"trump-iran-negotiating-on-fumes-midterms-wont-sway-war-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/448356\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump: Iran ‘negotiating on fumes’, midterms won\u2019t sway war strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

US President Donald Trump asserted that Iran is “negotiating on fumes” and insisted November’s midterm elections won’t factor in shaping his approach to the nearly three-month-old conflict that’s spurred unease across the global economy.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the start of a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday (local time) at a precarious moment for talks aimed at ending the war, Trump expressed confidence that a deal is near. Over the weekend, he even declared that his administration and Tehran had “largely negotiated” a settlement, but the negotiations were still in flux.<\/p>\n

The president is looking for a settlement that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and provide him a credible argument that Iran’s nuclear capability has been diminished enough to declare victory, winding down a conflict that’s been politically unpopular for Republicans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But as things stand, Trump also risks finding that closure to his war of choice comes with an unsatisfactory ending.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A man walks between destroyed buildings that were hit in Israeli airstrikes in Burj al-Shemali village near the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

The emerging deal puts off many critical issues to be resolved later and has already exposed the Republican president to fierce criticism \u2014 even from some of his own supporters \u2014 that Iran’s hard-line leaders will emerge from the conflict battered but emboldened. It all comes to a head just as the midterm elections to determine control of Congress come into focus and as Republicans worry that rising costs and fuel prices are darkening the American electorate’s mood.<\/p>\n

But Trump on Wednesday dismissed the idea that the upcoming elections would carry any weight in shaping his Iran strategy.<\/p>\n

“They thought they were gonna outwait me. You know, ‘We’ll outwait him. He’s got the midterms,'” Trump said. “I don’t care about the midterms.”<\/p>\n

Trump acknowledged there’s still work to do, but he spoke with a measure of certainty that the two sides would get there.<\/p>\n

“They want very much to make a deal,” Trump said. “So far, they haven’t gotten there. We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be \u2014 either that or we’ll have to just finish the job.”<\/p>\n

Asked whether he would accept a deal allowing Iran and Oman to share control of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said “Oman will behave just like everybody else or we\u2019ll have to blow them up”.<\/p>\n

He said the strait must be open to everyone and that no one can control it, though he said the US will “watch over it”.<\/p>\n

After issuing the threat to Oman, Trump added: \u201cThey understand that. They\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talks were further complicated after US forces carried out what the Pentagon called “defensive” strikes<\/a> on missile launch sites and minelaying boats in southern Iran on Monday. The US said it acted with “restraint” in light of the weekslong ceasefire, while Iran decried the action as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability.”<\/p>\n

\"President<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump speaks during the 158th National Memorial Day Observance coinciding with the nation’s 250th anniversary, at the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, May 25, 2026 (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Some Trump backers are sceptical<\/p>\n

While Trump insists a deal is within reach, there appears to be daylight between the US and Iran on several key issues. The president is also facing scrutiny from Republican allies, including Senators Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Ted Cruz of Texas, who have said the terms seem too favourable to Tehran.<\/p>\n

They’re balking at aspects of the deal that have emerged publicly that they say too closely resemble the nuclear agreement reached with Iran by Democratic President Barack Obama, which Trump scrapped during his first term.<\/p>\n

Under the potential deal, Tehran would agree to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium \u2014 a key Trump demand \u2014 in return for sanctions relief. That’s according to two regional officials and one senior Trump administration official, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.<\/p>\n

One regional official, with direct knowledge of the negotiations, said how Iran would give up the uranium would be subject to further talks during a 60-day period. Some would likely be diluted, while the rest would be transferred to a third country, the official said.<\/p>\n

Trump said that he “wouldn’t be comfortable” with either Russia or China taking Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The two countries have the closest relations with Tehran, and nuclear analysts have said they could be a potential acceptable third party to the Iranian Republic to take possession of the enriched uranium as part of a potential deal.<\/p>\n

Iran has 440.9 kilogram of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran has not publicly committed to giving up its uranium.<\/p>\n

\"Smoke<\/p>\n

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike hits a building near the airport road in Beirut, March 31, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

How Trump’s plan affects Israel’s war in Lebanon<\/p>\n

Another key issue unresolved is whether the ceasefire will also cover Israel’s operations against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon. Iran has insisted that Lebanon must be covered by any ceasefire agreement negotiated with the United States.<\/p>\n

The administration appears to leave some wiggle room on the Lebanon question. The emerging memorandum of understanding calls for a ceasefire between the US and its allies against Iran and its proxies, such as Hezbollah, but also underscores Israel’s right to act against imminent threats and in self-defence.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday announced that the Israeli military is “deepening its operation” in Lebanon. Overnight, Israel’s military clashed<\/a> with the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group along a strategic river in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops pushed farther north.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Conricus, a former spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, said Israel expects that Iran would quickly move to direct any sanctions relief to restore its military capability and boost proxy groups, including Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza.<\/p>\n

“We’re not done fighting, because the Iranian regime isn’t done,” said Conricus, who is a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank.<\/p>\n

\"Lebanese<\/p>\n

Lebanese residents inspect damage at the site of buildings destroyed in Israeli airstrike. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

‘Stunned silence’ as Trump ties Abraham Accords to Iran deal<\/p>\n

Trump on Wednesday also reinforced his call for a deal to end the Iran war to include a requirement for several additional countries, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan, to join the Abraham Accords, the US-brokered agreements from Trump’s first term aimed at normalising diplomatic and economic relations with Israel.<\/p>\n

“We’re, you know, requesting strongly that they join,” Trump said.<\/p>\n

Trump’s optimism that the other Middle Eastern and majority-Muslim countries could soon sign on to the accords might be overly ambitious.<\/p>\n

For example, Saudi Arabia, the most significant power in the Arab world and long seen as the biggest prize for the normalisation effort, has insisted that establishing a guaranteed path to a Palestinian state remains a precondition. It’s something that Israel vehemently opposes.<\/p>\n

Trump pushed for the Abraham Accords during a call with leaders of Mideast allies over the weekend.<\/p>\n

Barbara Leaf, a retired US ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and senior State Department official during President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration, said officials from Gulf countries who were on the call told her that Trump’s pitch was greeted by “stunned silence.” A person familiar with the call disputed that characterisation and said that some regional allies responded positively to the president’s call to join the accords. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity about the private conversation.<\/p>\n

Leaf, a distinguished diplomatic fellow at the Middle East Institute, said that Middle Eastern allies of the United States recognise that Iran will likely use any money from sanctions relief to bolster its military capabilities. Still, they have been supportive of Trump’s efforts to end the conflict.<\/p>\n

“They see no other way out,” Leaf said of American allies in the region. “And they see no other way out because of many of these early mistakes that the president and the administration made in conducting the war.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"US President Donald Trump asserted that Iran is “negotiating on fumes” and insisted November’s midterm elections won’t factor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448357,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[65,42,5107,43,40,38,41,39,66],"class_list":["post-448356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-donald-trump","tag-headlines","tag-middle-east","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-us-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}