Trump Says Iran Is Right Where He Wants It: Deal or Bombs, His Call

Trump took to Fox News on Tuesday with a message that swung between carrot and hammer: his administration has Iran exactly where it wants it, and Washington can either cut a deal with Tehran or keep the military operation rolling. He made clear he isn't chasing a body count. 'I'm not looking to kill a lot of people' in Iran, he said, before adding the caveat that 'if we have to, we have to.'

The president doubled down on his claim that the US has already taken out Iran's navy and air force, and argued the situation no longer qualifies as a war because American forces aren't actively striking. He called Tehran 'the meanest' and 'very tough,' but said the country has been effectively 'decapitated' since the US operation kicked off in late February.

The economic aftershocks are still rippling out. Saudi Arabia's Finance Ministry said Tuesday that oil revenues for the third quarter crashed 23% year-over-year, landing at 16.5 billion riyals — roughly $4.4 billion. Overall budget revenues slipped 4% to 259 billion riyals, though non-oil revenues climbed 20% to 142.6 billion riyals.

The root of the disruption: global oil shipping has been snarled since the US-Israeli war against Iran began on February 28, compounded by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world's most critical chokepoints for crude.

Elsewhere in the region, Israel kept up pressure on Lebanon. Israeli artillery shelling hit the outskirts of the southern towns of Baraachit, according to Lebanon's National News Agency, which also reported a low-flying Israeli drone over Tyre and nearby towns. Over the weekend, Israeli forces targeted the Nabatieh district.

Back home, Americans head to the polls on Tuesday, November 3, to fill the House of Representatives along with 35 Senate seats and 36 governorships. The midterms are shaping up as a verdict on Trump nearly two years into his second term, with Republicans staring down the possibility of losing both chambers to a resurgent Democratic Party — and polling showing trouble even in deep-red strongholds that backed him heavily in 2024.