Trump Iran Strike or Deal Warning at Rally
Donald Trump has said the United States could strike Iran as soon as “tomorrow” or reach a “big, beautiful” agreement with Tehran, in the latest escalation of his warnings to the Islamic Republic. The Trump Iran strike warning came at a campaign rally in Georgia on Saturday, where he also said he needs to stop killing Iranian leaders to work out who Washington is negotiating with.
“I gotta stop” killing Iranian leaders, Trump told the rally, “because I gotta figure out who the hell we’re negotiating with.”
“They don’t have any airplanes, no ships, no anything, no leaders. Level one leader is gone, level two leader is gone,” he said, repeating his account of the destruction of Iran’s military command.
Trump Iran strike or deal threat
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Trump kept both options open.
“We’re thinking about doing it, and maybe tomorrow,” Trump said when asked how far along he was in considering a fresh attack.
“Do you really think I’m going to tell you if I’m going to do it?” he added.
Trump said Iran could still avoid action by reaching a deal, but questioned whether Tehran would keep one.
“They want to make a deal, but the problem is, will they hold the deal?” he said.
He also claimed Hormuz oil shipments had risen, without giving figures.
“I’ve got to make it permanent,” Trump said of his goal of stopping Iran from ever developing a nuclear weapon. “That’s the only reason I’m doing it.”
“I may have to finish it off, or maybe they’ll make a deal,” he said. “But I’m not sure. Either way, we win.”
The nuclear deal Trump tore up
Trump defended his 2018 withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement reached under Barack Obama, calling it one of the worst deals ever made.
“I terminated one of the worst deals ever made, Barack Hussein Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or as some people call it, the Iran nuclear deal, which was a road to a nuclear weapon for Iran. I terminated it, luckily, just in time,” he said.
He pointed to two military operations as proof of success. “We obliterated Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity with Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury,” he said, referring to operations in 2025 and then from February to May this year.
“We defeated them militarily, financially, and otherwise. We have to make sure that they never, ever have a nuclear weapon,” Trump added.
Trump had already threatened a fresh operation against Iran earlier this month, after US officials reported that Tehran was stepping up plots against American officials. The earlier Epic Fury operation was covered in detail at the time.
Intelligence memo warns of advanced plots
Behind the rally rhetoric sits an intelligence warning. Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a message dated October 23, saying Iran had ramped up efforts to target US personnel.
“Specifically, through various channels, we have received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel,” Clayton wrote.
“The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against US citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries,” he added.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe was copied in on the memo, first reported by Axios.
The alert came after Washington scaled back staffing at its Saudi Arabia mission earlier in the week, following intensified Houthi attacks. Those attacks, on one front of the nearly eight-month-old regional conflict triggered by the Iran war, have coincided with a rise in attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier this month, sources told Reuters that Iran was preparing a more forceful response if the US resumes large-scale attacks on its territory.
Why this matters for Pakistan
The confrontation reaches Pakistan through Hormuz and energy prices. Oil prices have already surged on Hormuz tactics, and any new strike or shipping disruption would push fuel costs higher for import-dependent countries.
Pakistan also watches the diplomatic track closely. Iran’s president has blamed Washington for the failure of an interim deal, so Trump’s talk of a “big, beautiful” agreement will be tested against that record of failed talks.
For now, Trump has offered no firm decision, leaving allies and adversaries to guess which option he will choose.
What did Trump say at the Georgia rally?
Trump said he must stop killing Iranian leaders to find who to negotiate with, and that the US could strike Iran “tomorrow” or reach a deal.
