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Trump says he’ll soon decide whether to ‘make a deal’ with Iran or ‘finish it off’
CNBC ^ | October 26, 2026 | Jenni Reid

Posted on 10/26/2026 7:27:28 AM PDT by Miami Rebel

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he was deciding whether to “make a deal” with Iran or “finish it off” as investors weigh heightened tensions across the Middle East.

“Do I finish it off, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal? It’s getting to be decision time,” Trump said in a Fox News interview on Sunday.

Mediators from Qatar, which has played a key role in efforts to negotiate an agreement between Washington and Tehran, visited Tehran on Sunday, per Reuters. It comes as attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants on Saudi Arabia continued over the weekend. The last confirmed U.S. strikes on Iran were on Sept. 1. Trump previously said strikes would not resume until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Tehran says it is preparing a military response to any U.S. attacks.

A potential U.S. target could be Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried site linked to Iran’s nuclear program, Trump said in the Sunday interview. “We can read the badge on somebody’s shirt from space, okay? We know exactly what’s going on at Pickaxe Mountain. We know the other three [nuclear sites] are obliterated,” Trump said.

Trump also repeated the claim that the U.S. controls the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global trade and a major flashpoint in the conflict, citing that crude oil flows have returned to pre-war levels. Energy prices nonetheless remain elevated amid the disruption and a global refining squeeze. Washington and Tehran have both repeatedly claimed they control the route, where overall trade flows remain severely curtailed, impacting consumer prices.

A Singapore-flagged container ship sank in the strait earlier this month after being struck by an unidentified projectile and catching fire. Iran Revolutionary Guard navy chief Ali Ozmaei said earlier this month that Tehran is “counting the moments” until it can sink American warships.

Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are meeting Iran’s leadership in Tehran on Monday. The three countries signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in August, committing to closer defense cooperation and stipulating that an armed attack against one member would be regarded as an attack against all. It is the first meeting of the group since Houthi missiles and drones targeted sites across Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh airport and an administrative building belonging to oil giant Saudi Aramco. Saudi Arabia last week postponed its flagship Future Investment Initiative conference until 2027 due to security concerns after a string of fatal strikes.


TOPICS: Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: iran; irgc; randspam; tds; trumpiran; war; waronterror

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I'm genuinely confused:

To what end does President Trump repeatedly make these "To be or not to be" statements?

The Iranians never seem to react to these warnings, and they don't really have any impact on American support for the war.

1 posted on 10/26/2026 7:27:28 AM PDT by Miami Rebel
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To: Miami Rebel

Those two weeks he said it would be win the war, has taken forever.


2 posted on 10/26/2026 7:30:19 AM PDT by napscoordinator (DeSantis is a beast! Florida is the freest state in the country! )
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To: Miami Rebel

Shit or get off the pot.


3 posted on 10/26/2026 7:30:30 AM PDT by TomServo
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To: Miami Rebel

I’m confused too. You can’t make a “deal” with Iran if they don’t want to make one. Or if their deals turn out to be worthless.

Of course, you can outright accept their terms. But that is more like surrender than a “deal”.


4 posted on 10/26/2026 7:30:41 AM PDT by rbg81 (=)
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To: Miami Rebel

“The Iranians never seem to react to these warnings ...”

The Iranians in control, the IRGC, don’t seem to care. The IRGC will continue to be ok, even if their country is leveled. We are in a fight with someone who has no regard for any life, even their own. That’s a tough fight to win.

Personally, Trump’s many proclamations about ending the war have become tedious and it gives the impression that he might be in over his head.


5 posted on 10/26/2026 7:31:13 AM PDT by brownsfan (We are already on the slippery slope.)
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To: Miami Rebel

Trump is goal oriented. Do you know people like this? obstacles are to be overcome.

What are the goals here?

Look at how long he stays in the fight to achieve goals in the past. How much did it take to get elections and immigration and fraud and ect. in the main stream?

If I shake you awake in the middle of the night and ask you why you fight, after you reach for your gun, what do you tell me?

Our Founding Fathers could answer that question. Trump can. Can we?


6 posted on 10/26/2026 7:33:30 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple ((Thinking Caps are no longer being issued, but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere))
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To: Miami Rebel

You may think Iran is not reacting...but I bet they are moving things and people around....and we’re watching...


7 posted on 10/26/2026 7:33:52 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: TomServo

Shit or get off the pot.


Do you understand long term goals? You would have told our Founding Fathers to give up too.


8 posted on 10/26/2026 7:35:10 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple ((Thinking Caps are no longer being issued, but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere))
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To: Miami Rebel

Keeps them guessing.


9 posted on 10/26/2026 7:36:40 AM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: Miami Rebel

Does this man understand that he could carpet bomb the entire country and unless the IRGC is eliminated, the death cult will continue.

These folks are worse than Imperial Japan.

They will negotiate. And they will lie.

We seem focused on their economy. Does’t he understand that the people in charge do not care about their economy?


10 posted on 10/26/2026 7:36:49 AM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: Miami Rebel

“It’s getting to be decision time”

It’s 7mos+ past that time.


11 posted on 10/26/2026 7:37:40 AM PDT by Carriage Hill (A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
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To: Georgia Girl 2

To what end?


12 posted on 10/26/2026 7:37:56 AM PDT by Miami Rebel
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To: Miami Rebel

Iran has not honored one treaty it’s signed since 1979, so why are we even thinking about signing anything with them? Their word is worthless. Their leaders are without honor.


13 posted on 10/26/2026 7:38:13 AM PDT by econjack
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To: Miami Rebel
Meanwhile:

Saudi official says talks between Iran and Mecca Defence Alliance will take place today

I don't think they want to restart this war.

14 posted on 10/26/2026 7:40:00 AM PDT by McGruff
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To: Miami Rebel

Finish it off. When I think of countries with governments that “need killing,” Iran is one of the two that always comes to mind. The other is North Korea.


15 posted on 10/26/2026 7:40:33 AM PDT by Berosus (I wish I had as much faith in God as liberals have in government.)
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To: Miami Rebel

I had to check the date of this article to see if this is new news or old news.

As in Trump has been saying this since February.


16 posted on 10/26/2026 7:42:57 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
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To: Miami Rebel

Iran does not need a deal. Iran needs further degrading until all the tiger is removed from the paper tiger, leaving just the paper


17 posted on 10/26/2026 7:43:29 AM PDT by chuckee
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To: Miami Rebel

Iran does not need a deal. Iran needs further degrading until all the tiger is removed from the paper tiger, leaving just the paper


18 posted on 10/26/2026 7:43:43 AM PDT by chuckee
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To: Berosus

**Do I finish it off**

If it’s at all possible it should have been done the first time in June. There’s no room to mess around in any war.


19 posted on 10/26/2026 7:43:44 AM PDT by DIRTYSECRET
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To: Miami Rebel

Rid the world of this apocalyptic suicidal caliphate. If you don;t they will come back and make us regret not doing so.


20 posted on 10/26/2026 7:45:14 AM PDT by Buckeye Battle Cry (Progressivism is socialism. Venezuela is how it ends.)
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