Trump says he has no immediate plan to attack Iran, but promises to "finish the job" if Tehran doesn't behave

President Donald Trump said he has no immediate plans to attack Iran, but warned he will act if Tehran does not change its stance. In an interview with Fox, he said that he did not want to anticipate his next steps, but that, "certainly", if Iran does not behave, it will move forward. The statement was made amid speculation about a possible escalation after the mid-term legislative elections, according to Fox Business.

Asked about the possibility of a deal, Trump said an understanding could be signed if it was "binding and good" and guaranteed that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon. Otherwise, he said, he will "finish the job easily."

Tehran toughens tone

Iran's security chief criticized the United States in the talks, saying the American response was unconvincing and that Washington needs to act. According to presenter Cheryl, the Iranian authority stated that only in this case will the Strait of Hormuz be reopened. The road is a central route for oil transport, and the topic returned to the center of the debate.

For Alex Gray, former chief of staff of the National Security Council in the Trump administration, the Iranian regime will emerge stronger from the results of the elections. In his opinion, the Iranians will look for any opportunity to use negotiations to achieve their central objective: to have a nuclear weapon and continue to dominate the Middle East, an agenda that, according to him, they have maintained for almost 50 years. Gray said he doesn't believe anything will change from Tehran's perspective.

Economic pressure and the China factor

According to Gray, the most likely thing is that the president will continue to use the power of economic coercion applied against Iran in the last four or five months, which, in his assessment, has produced the desired effect. He said Iranian oil exports have reportedly been disrupted and that sanctions have reduced the country's ability to move its supply chain into Central Asia, toward Pakistan, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The former government member also said that there is a major impact on the Iranian currency and the regime's ability to pay its allies. The presenter mentioned reports, not yet confirmed, that "shadow" oil tankers left the strait and arrived in China.

Regarding Beijing, Gray assessed that Trump got President Xi Jinping to agree to a similar vision of the bilateral relationship, which he described as stable for now. This, he says, helps keep China basically where it has been for the past few months. He stated that the issue does not depend on Congress or the electoral calendar, but on a broader strategic reality.

For investors, the episode keeps the geopolitical risk linked to the Strait of Hormuz and oil on their radar, a variable with a potential effect on energy prices, inflation and interest rates. The transcription, however, does not contain market data. At the end, Cheryl highlighted the role of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in trade negotiations with China, and Gray cited the economic power of the US as a tool that will continue to be on display.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.