Republican senator says US weighs naval quarantine, attacks or diplomacy with Iran after midterm elections

Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana said President Donald Trump and his team are weighing all options for dealing with Iran after the midterm elections, which could include continuing a naval quarantine, military strikes or diplomacy. The statement was made in an interview with the Fox Business channel.

The presenter's question came from press reports about conversations between the US and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. According to the presenter, Trump appeared to suggest a bombing mission shortly after the election ended. Sheehy, a former member of the Navy SEAL, did not detail specific plans, but said that all alternatives remain on the table.

Sheehy maintained that the conflict has lasted almost half a century and that it was started by the Revolutionary Guard and the radical Islamists who rule the country. In the senator's assessment, most Americans have forgotten the seriousness of the threat. The presenter, in turn, stated that Iran has been waging war against the USA since 1979.

Diplomacy with safeguards

The senator said he hoped the impasse would be resolved peacefully, given the risk to American soldiers in uniform. According to him, the hope is that Iranian leaders will conclude that peace is the best option. For Sheehy, Trump is the first president in half a century to fully understand the threat and face it head on.

Asked whether negotiations, treaties and agreements could yield results, Sheehy was direct: in his view, there are no possible agreements with the Ayatollah and his radical leadership. The senator argued that the regime would immediately begin to undermine any understanding and look for ways to weaken the US position in the world.

Therefore, he stated, any diplomacy would need structure and military safeguards, so that the US can identify non-compliance and enforce the terms immediately.

The history and what to watch out for

Sheehy recalled that, in previous agreements, Washington gave cash and eased sanctions in the hope that Tehran would honor the agreement, which, according to him, never happened. For the senator, any new agreement must start from the premise that it will be violated.

The transcript does not contain data on oil prices, interest rates, dollars or stock markets. Still, for investors, the topic is relevant: the possibility of attacks or maintenance of the naval quarantine after the elections keeps Iran as a geopolitical risk factor to be monitored.

The outcome will depend on the White House's decision after the vote and Tehran's willingness to negotiate. For now, the statements reflect the position of a senator allied with Trump, and not an official government announcement.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.