IranBarring Provocations: Trump Tells Advisers He May Hold Off on Attacking Iran, Tehran Reports More Tankers Mined, and Iran Goes on the Agenda for Shenzhen
Day 260 in one line: the President was reported to be leaning against new strikes so long as Iran and the Houthis do not provoke him — on a day Iran said more tankers had been mined in the strait.
"I Could End It Immediately"
Reuters, citing three people familiar with the matter, reported that Trump told senior advisers in recent days he may hold off on attacking Iran if the United States faces no new provocations from Tehran or the Houthis. Reuters also reported that Trump told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on October 31 that he planned to attack after the US elections, that the crown prince pleaded with him to hold off, and that Turkey’s President Erdogan also urged him not to resume attacks. Trump told the broadcaster Stephen A. Smith on Thursday: "I could end it immediately." A White House statement said: "The United States is in a very strong position with control of the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian economy collapsing." Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Federalist Society that further military action was unnecessary because of "the economic pain that we are inflicting on that regime," adding: "I think victory is ensuring that they never have a nuclear weapon."
Iran on the Agenda in Shenzhen
The White House said Trump, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping will meet on Thursday on the sidelines of a summit in Shenzhen, with nuclear arms reduction among the topics. A senior US official said: "I think the president does intend to talk about Iran in the trilateral meeting with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin." The official said Ukraine would not be discussed there.
Hormuz: More Tankers, and a Drone Claim
Iran’s navy said an oil tanker caught fire on Saturday morning after hitting a naval mine in the eastern Strait of Hormuz; Reuters said it could not immediately verify the report. Iranian media later carried a navy statement that a second tanker had caught fire the same way: "Fire and explosions are the fate of tankers involved in illegal activities that have turned off their tracking systems." Al Jazeera’s live coverage described it as the fifth tanker reported hit around Hormuz in 24 hours. Separately, the IRGC said it destroyed a US drone over Qeshm Island, which it described as an MQ-1 Predator; the report carried no US response.
Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon
The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed two drones launched by the Houthis toward Riyadh and the kingdom’s southern region. The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said coalition attacks hit the south of Saada city in northern Yemen. In southern Lebanon, Israeli forces shelled Haddatha, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
Israel: Unity Offer, "Another Spin"
Prime Minister Netanyahu urged Gadi Eisenkot to hold talks "without preconditions" on a unity government, saying Iran was working to restore its nuclear weapons programme: "We must remove this existential threat from us once and for all." Eisenkot called the offer "another spin" and said talks between his party and Likud were already scheduled. Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu had not told Eisenkot he had sent the Mossad chief to Washington, and that the Israeli military supports action in Iran but differs on timing.
Status Assessment
Tracker status holds at WAR RESUMED. The reported White House position is conditional restraint: no new attack unless Iran or the Houthis provoke one. It was reported the day after Iran claimed an attack on a US radar in Bahrain, and as Iran reported tankers mined on consecutive days. Washington is relying on the blockade and sanctions; Tehran’s conditions have not changed. No ceasefire or agreement is in force.