Informative · Diplomacy

Iran just said war with America is likely after the midterms

2 days ago · 29 September 2026Share

Abbas Araghchi, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, at IAEA headquarters in Vienna, May 2021 — IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Seyed Abbas Araghchi during an official visit to the Agency headquarters in Vienna, Austria on 6 May 2021. File photo. IAEA Imagebank · CC BY 2.0

Iran's Foreign Minister just confirmed it. Talks with America have stalled.

And he says there's a high chance the war starts back up after America votes on 3 November.

Abbas Araghchi said this two days ago on NBC's Meet the Press, talking to Kristen Welker. It's the clearest he's ever been about how Iran reads Donald Trump.

Here's what he said. Iran is ready for the war to start again. And Iran will stand firm against any new aggression, even if it turns into what he called a doomsday war.

But he also said Iran is ready to talk. And that the choice now sits with Donald Trump.

So Iran just put a date on the danger. Not "soon". Not "if talks fail". 3 November.

So where did that date come from? Not from Iran. From Trump himself.

Five days ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump told his own aides he expects America to start bombing Iran again after the midterms.

So this interview is Iran saying: we saw that report, and we believe it.

Trump has said something close to it in public too. He thinks a deal comes right after the election. He says Iran is waiting to see how he does at the midterms.

Araghchi pushed back on that directly. He said Iran does not care about the US midterms. He said Iran is acting on its own national interests, full stop.

And there's a rejected peace plan sitting underneath all of this.

Four days ago, Iran's Foreign Ministry sent America a seven-day plan through Qatari mediators. Iran wanted about $12 billion of its frozen funds released, sanctions lifted, and the naval blockade on its ports ended. In return, the Strait of Hormuz reopens, and final talks on Iran's nuclear programme start within a week.

Trump rejected it the next day. His words: "I'm rejecting their deal." He said Iran wants the strait open immediately because it is losing badly.

Mike Waltz, America's Ambassador to the United Nations, went further on the same programme. He said the offer was a cynical attempt to put something on the table that Iran knew was unacceptable. He also asked who's really calling the shots in Iran right now.

The rest of this story is for members.

Araghchi answered that one too. He said there is a shared, unified decision-making process in Iran, and denied there are rival power centres inside the government. That question has followed Iran for weeks, tied to unresolved questions about the health of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

Araghchi also defended Iran's nuclear programme itself. He said enrichment isn't illegal. He said Iran had already dealt with concerns raised in past negotiations, before the war even started. Then he asked, plainly: why did they bomb us?

America's position isn't a flat no, though.

A US official told Al Jazeera the indirect talks through Qatar are moving in a good direction, even with no agreement yet. Trump administration officials have told Axios that sanctions relief and the frozen funds are on the table. But only after Iran takes real steps on its nuclear programme first.

And here's a contradiction worth sitting with.

Araghchi told Kristen Welker that America's rejection had not actually reached Iran through the official mediators yet — even though Trump had already told reporters he'd rejected it, days earlier.

So two governments. Two different stories about whether a rejection has even been delivered.

This war started seven months ago, in February, with air strikes by America and Israel on Iran. A ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Pakistan in June collapsed within weeks, after both sides fired again.

And back home, the war isn't popular. The latest NBC News Decision Desk poll found only 31% of Americans approve of how Trump is handling it. 69% disapprove.

Two days ago, Araghchi met the Qatari mediators again. He said he's waiting on Washington's final answer, and hopes to hear back within days.

So what don't we know? Whether Trump actually plans to bomb Iran again after 3 November, or whether the threat is just leverage before the vote. Whether any real diplomatic movement is possible in the five weeks left. And how solid Iran's claimed internal unity really is.

Iran just said war with America is likely after the midterms

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