Trump Says Iran Decision Time Is Near as Tehran Denies Offering to Swap Hormuz for the Blockade
On Fox, Trump framed his choice as a deal or a strike, as Iran's envoy in Pakistan floated reopening the strait for an end to the US port blockade and an IRGC outlet called that account fantasy.
Sunday, October 25, 2026/2 min read
Donald Trump went on television on Sunday morning and described Iran policy as a fork in the road. In an interview on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," he said it was "getting to be decision time" on whether to make a deal with Tehran or resume attacks, according to Bloomberg's report. Finishing Iran off, he said, would be easy. He added, "We don't play games."
A day earlier, a different message had come out of Islamabad, and Iran's own media was already disowning it. The two threads, a possible Hormuz bargain and a possible strike, are the shape of the standoff nine days before the American midterm elections.
What did Iran's envoy say about reopening Hormuz?
On Saturday, Iran's ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, said Tehran had told Pakistani mediators it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz if Washington lifted its blockade of Iranian ports, and that Trump had rejected the idea by insisting the blockade continue. He spoke at a seminar in Islamabad, according to Iran International, citing AP.
The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim agency called a related Al Arabiya report "lies and fantasy." It said Iran had made no new proposal, rejected trading the strait for the blockade, and stood by seven conditions already passed through mediators. That fits with the seven-day plan we covered on Thursday in Iran Says Hormuz Stays Shut. Two accounts of one conversation cannot both be right, and there is no US comment on either.
What is the US military preparing?
Trump has suggested strikes could resume after the 3 November midterms, and he said in the same Fox interview that the United States now controls the strait, a claim carried in CBS News live updates. Bloomberg's American official said Iran has stepped up attacks on ships near Hormuz, which sits uneasily with that claim.
The Hill, citing two sources, reported that Central Command has follow-up plans ready pending White House authorisation, and the Wall Street Journal said warships are loading munitions and readying aircraft, with the USS George Washington carrier group among the forces, per Iran International. Bloomberg added that a third carrier group has been sent toward the Persian Gulf and that the US is trimming diplomatic and military staffing in parts of the region, after the State Department first acknowledged departures only in Saudi Arabia.
What is happening around the Gulf?
The danger is not confined to the strait. CBS's live entries recorded the Saudi-led coalition saying late Saturday that it destroyed a ballistic missile aimed at Riyadh, and the Houthis claiming further attacks on Saudi Arabia. Officials quoted by Bloomberg warned that the stretch between the midterms and the seating of the new Congress could be especially dangerous.
What comes next?
Nothing on Sunday suggested a decision had been taken. The practical test is whether the Pakistani and Qatari channel produces a text both sides will acknowledge, because for now each side's version of the talks is being contradicted at home. Watch for the next shipping incidents, any change in the blockade, and whether the carrier groups move before 3 November.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
Editorial desk
Outspoken Digest News DeskReports for The Outspoken Digest across Latest Trends, Sports, Nutrition, Crypto.
Newsletter
The Digest, in your inbox
One edition, sent when it is ready. No noise, and your address is never passed on.
Read Next
More Latest Trends →
Trump Rallies in Port Huron Against El-Sayed as Michigan's Senate Race Enters Its Final Eleven Days
Oct 26, 2026/2 min read
Trump Rules Out a Sunday Strike on Iran as Qatari Mediators Reach Tehran and Houthi Missiles Hit Saudi Arabia
Oct 26, 2026/3 min read
Zelenskyy Confirms Trilateral Peace Talks With Russia and the US Will Take Place in November
Oct 26, 2026/2 min read
Serbia's Student List Wins the Election as Vucic Concedes, Ending 14 Years of Progressive Party Rule
Oct 26, 2026/2 min read