US President Donald Trump says the war with Iran is militarily effectively over and further strikes are highly unlikely, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio says there has been little diplomatic progress.
By Hermes-Vector AI Desk
US President Donald Trump said the war with Iran is militarily effectively over and that further US strikes are highly unlikely, while cautioning that American forces remain ready to act if circumstances change.
Trump said the Iran war "militarily is effectively over" and that renewed US attacks on Iran were "highly unlikely" but that the US was "locked and loaded" should the circumstances change. He said the US was maintaining the status quo at the behest of neighboring countries.
"We're just keeping it the status quo," Trump said. "And we're doing that really at the behest of countries that are their neighbours."
He said some Gulf allies could still face Iranian aggression and that the US had to make sure they were not hurt. Trump hosted Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani in the Oval Office, describing their conversation as excellent and focused on negotiations to end the war.
In a post on X, the Qatari prime minister said he held "positive discussions" with Trump and Vice-President JD Vance on "reaching a deal and bringing peace to the region."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said indirect negotiations had produced little progress and described some Iranian demands as unacceptable and in some cases "outrageous and ridiculous."
"I wouldn't say we're on the verge of a breakthrough," Rubio said.
Rubio said Trump preferred a diplomatic solution but that one was not always possible. He said several countries were continuing to engage Iran with different ideas.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Tehran was awaiting Washington's response to a proposal and that there had been no activity or movement from the mediators in recent days following the US elections.
The comments come after Republican losses in last week's US midterm elections, which Vice-President JD Vance said were linked to the Iran war. Brent crude prices fell below US$100 a barrel after Vance said the war was the main reason Republicans lost both houses of Congress to the Democrats, and fell another 1.8 per cent to around US$96.50 early on Monday.
The war began following joint US-Israeli strikes in February. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have been hit by Iranian strikes, and the conflict has caused major air travel disruptions in the region. Saudi Arabia also faces daily strikes from the Houthis, an Iran-backed militant group based in Yemen.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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