US signals continued maritime and land blockade of Iran rather than renewed military strikes
![US President Donald Trump speaks at the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington on Monday (local time). [AP]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/11/10/news-p.v1.20261110.3b79f29f6f064145b85007c390f57872_P1.jpg)
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US President Donald Trump said Monday (local time) that the United States is seeing "positive momentum toward the end of this conflict" with Iran.
Trump made the remarks in a Truth Social post after meeting Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the White House that day. He said the US is "locked and loaded" and ready to act should circumstances in the Middle East change, but added that "at this point, the chance of that happening seems very small."
Trump went on to say that "Israel and the entire Middle East are being protected from the danger and threat of Iran."
Before the midterm elections, Trump had publicly stated that he could launch a "short but powerful" military strike against Iran after the vote. Since the Republican Party's heavy losses at the polls — attributed in part to voter frustration over the Iran war — he has signaled that resuming strikes is unlikely.
In a phone interview with Reuters that day, Trump said the US is "ready to act whenever we want," but suggested he was in no rush to resume military action, noting that Qatar and Saudi Arabia "would prefer to see a peaceful resolution."
In an interview with CBS News program "60 Minutes" — recorded Friday and aired Sunday — Trump also drew a clear line on whether strikes would resume, saying, "I have no intention of doing that. I don't see a reason for it."
In his Truth Social post, Trump said Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and other nations "prefer the status quo — the continuation of the greatest 'maritime blockade' in history and the new Operation Iron Gate."
The remarks signal that the US intends to maintain its isolation campaign against Iran through a maritime blockade targeting vessels traveling between Iranian ports and the coast in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as a land blockade — launched by CENTCOM on Saturday — aimed at cutting off the overland transport of weapons and other supplies into Iran.
Trump also said that "every country in the Middle East has agreed that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. That is non-negotiable."
yckim6452@heraldcorp.com
