Trump says Iran strikes 'highly unlikely' if Tehran signs strong deal

President Donald Trump told CNN’s Jim Sciutto by phone Sunday that further U.S. strikes on Iran were "highly unlikely" if Tehran signs a strong agreement, though American forces remained ready.

"It depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement," Trump said. He said Iran wants "to make a deal so badly."

Trump said he would strike again if necessary. "I would if necessary, but we hit them really hard," he said. Three U.S. aircraft carriers were stationed in the region, he said, adding, "The other one just arrived."

Trump said the U.S. had 38 Iranian bridges in its sights that it could destroy "in literally one hour," but he opposed doing so because "it'll take 10 years to rebuild them."

He described Iran as "a failing nation" with "301% inflation" this year. "They're withering away financially. We've hit them militarily. We could finish them off," Trump said.

Iran has repeatedly rejected Trump’s claim that the country is falling apart and wants an agreement.

Recent strikes

Trump confirmed Friday that U.S. forces had conducted strikes on Iran, which he described as minor. The Hill reported that alleged U.S. attacks struck Qeshm Island on Nov. 2 and that fresh strikes targeted Iranian air defenses over the weekend. Qeshm Island is home to an Iranian naval base in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Pentagon had not publicly acknowledged the strikes before the midterms or disclosed attacks against Iranian targets since early September, the outlet said.

Trump had previously said he would wait until after the midterm elections to strike Iran. A day before the vote, he told the Financial Times he had no plans to strike Iran.

The terms Trump would require for a "very strong agreement" were not immediately clear. Nor was it clear when mediators would travel again or the precise timing, targets and scale of recent strikes, on which reports differ.

Mediation and Iran’s proposal

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on state television Sunday that mediators had stopped traveling in recent days because of "the shock that the election results in the United States have caused to everyone." He said, "We now have to see how long it will take for them to digest these results, in order to determine how we are going to move forward."

Araghchi wrote on X that Iran’s two-day proposal stands and warned that its forces would "rain down hell" if the U.S. chose war. He previously said the proposal could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if the U.S. accepted certain conditions.

American voters have made their choice. Time for the White House to make its own.

Our 2-day proposal stands: meet the requirements, including end to war on all fronts, and you will see results.

Or choose war, and see our alert and battle-hardened Warriors rain down hell.

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) November 8, 2026

A senior Iranian official said Tehran sent Washington a nuclear proposal through Qatar, according to Reuters, in a report carried by Deutsche Welle. The official said more talks depend on the U.S. lifting sanctions, unfreezing Iranian funds and paying war reparations.

Qatar, which is mediating, denied rumors that talks were failing, while its prime minister said Saturday that both sides were still working toward a deal.

Trump ordered an attack on Iran in late February after Israel launched what it called a preemptive strike. Iran continues to partially block the Strait of Hormuz, at minimum, while the U.S. maintains a counterblockade of Iranian ports.

U.S. Central Command announced Task Force Iron Gate to expand the naval blockade of Iran to land trade routes, including routes through the Caspian Sea. Iran’s military dismissed the task force as word play.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday, "With regard to Iran, the mission is still not complete."

Deutsche Welle reported that Republicans lost their congressional majorities in the Nov. 3 midterms, while CBS News described heavy Republican losses. An October Reuters/Ipsos survey found 33% of Americans approved of the Iran war and 62% disapproved.

Trump is scheduled to give his first sit-down interview since the midterms to CBS’s "60 Minutes" at 7 p.m. ET/PT Sunday.