WASHINGTON.- United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that President Donald Trump has not decided whether to launch new strikes against Iran, even as Iranian negotiators held talks in Doha with Qatari mediators to try to avert a new round of fighting after next Tuesday's midterm elections.
"There are multiple talks. Talks have actually never stopped," Rubio said in Atlanta, where he was hosting foreign ministers of the G20 economies. He said Trump would prefer a diplomatic solution, but added that the president has "incredible confidence" the United States could act militarily if needed. Rubio declined to set a timeframe for the talks.
Doha talks after a day of shuttle diplomacy
Saturday's talks in the Qatari capital followed more than 12 hours of discussions on Friday between Iranian and Qatari envoys in Tehran, according to a source briefed on the negotiations who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. Qatari outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that a United States delegation will hold direct talks with an Iranian delegation in Doha, and that preliminary agreements were reached on Iran's nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and economic incentives, with China and Russia as guarantors — claims that have not been independently confirmed by Washington or Tehran.
The diplomacy comes against a starkly different report: MS NOW, citing three senior Gulf Arab officials, reported on Friday that the Trump administration has briefed Gulf allies to prepare for a short, intense round of strikes on Iran as soon as November 4, the day after the midterms. The Wall Street Journal reported that United States Central Command commander Brad Cooper briefed Trump on military options on Thursday, and the Associated Press reported that Washington advised Middle East allies to prepare for possible military action after the elections and for Iranian retaliation.
Gulf officials told MS NOW they are lobbying Washington to de-escalate, and one said they "would not be surprised" if some countries in the region resisted the United States using their air bases to launch attacks on Iran. Trump himself said on Friday that Iran was interested in holding talks with Washington: "We're going to have a non-nuclear Iran. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and they won't have a nuclear weapon, and that's going to end very soon."
A tanker fire and a warning from Tehran
Shortly after Rubio spoke, Iran's Navy said an oil tanker caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after running into naval mines, after sailing through what Tehran called a restricted area. No details on casualties or damage were immediately confirmed.
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Saturday that Iran would respond to new attacks by striking at United States and Israeli targets in neighboring countries. Almost two months have elapsed since the last American strike on Iran in the conflict that began with a joint United States-Israeli attack in February. Trump had previously pledged not to renew strikes before the November 3 midterms, in light of voters' unfavorable view of the war's handling.
The stakes for the talks are high: the midterms will decide whether Trump's Republicans keep their thin majorities in both houses of Congress, and Gulf allies fear that a new round of strikes — and Iranian retaliation — could spiral just as voters go to the polls.
Fuentes: Reuters vía Haaretz, SRN News y Northland News Radio; Haaretz; MS NOW vía Haaretz, 31 de octubre de 2026.