Three informed sources said that US President Donald Trump informed his senior advisors during the past few days that he may refrain from attacking Iran if the United States does not face any new provocations from Tehran or the Houthis allied with it in Yemen.
Trump has wavered between threatening to escalate the war with new strikes and reducing hostilities, and current and former officials say he appears undecided on how to end the unpopular war in his country.
But in meetings with national security advisers and after a series of intelligence briefings, Trump said he was considering refraining from launching strikes, according to the sources, who, like others interviewed for this story, requested anonymity.
Trump expressed his sympathy with the allies in the region who asked him not to return to all-out war. Trump told sportscaster Stephen A. "I can end the matter immediately, but at the request of the countries I seek to protect, we are doing so in a slightly longer, more civilized manner," Smith said on Thursday.
The statements made by Trump in private were a continuation of his public statements that reduced the possibility of resuming a large-scale war.
But despite these statements, Reuters quoted other sources familiar with American planning, saying that the army is at the same time ready to escalate if necessary. The sources added that a third aircraft carrier will head to the Middle East in the coming days to replace one of the two carriers operating in the region, but the three carriers can remain if necessary.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday evening (November 13, 2026) that launching further US military operations against Iran is unnecessary, because the economic suffering the United States is inflicting on the exhausted Islamic Republic is too severe.
Rubio's statement, during a speech before the Federalists Society, came to confirm a statement made by US President Donald Trump earlier this week, in which he said that the war was "effectively over from a military standpoint."
“Right now, frankly, the economic suffering that we are inflicting on that regime is so severe that there is no need for military action, because we have weakened them so much,” Rubio said. “But I think the victory is ensuring that they never have a nuclear weapon.”
Rubio also acknowledged the economic suffering suffered by Americans as a result of the war, which pushed fuel costs up and affected almost all sectors of the global economy. He said it would have been easy for Trump to ignore the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program, avoid an unpopular war, and "leave it to whoever comes after him to worry about it," adding that the president decided he "would not leave the matter unaddressed." "But it's hard," Rubio added. "It's not easy, it's difficult. And it often causes, you know, suffering, economic and other. And so we recognize that."
Tankers collide with mines
Iran announced that an explosion and fire broke out in two illegal oil tankers south of the Strait of Hormuz. A statement issued by the Naval Forces of the Revolutionary Guard, reported by Iranian state television early on Saturday morning (November 14, 2026), said: “Two oil tankers that attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz through an unauthorized passage exploded shortly after they turned off their radar and positioning devices, and they broke out in flames as a result of their collision with sea mines.”
In a separate statement, the Iranian Navy announced that a third oil tanker "was sailing through an unsafe and restricted area east of the Strait of Hormuz after turning off its location systems. It caught fire and was forced to stop after colliding with a sea mine."
Since the outbreak of the Iran war in February, Tehran has imposed severe restrictions on shipping traffic through the strategic strait for global energy supplies, regularly targeting ships that attempt to cross without its permission.
In response, the United States imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, and is escorting ships crossing the strait in increasing numbers.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has urged Iran to take “gradual steps” to allow the return of its inspectors to the Islamic Republic’s main nuclear facilities, saying their access is “essential.”
In September, the IAEA's Board of Governors referred Iran's file to the UN Security Council due to its "non-compliance" in the nuclear file, which is the first time in 20 years that Iran has been referred to the highest UN body.
Late Thursday evening (November 12, 2026), the UN Security Council adopted a unanimous resolution in which it strongly condemned the Houthis' military escalation. The Council stressed that there is no military solution to the ongoing conflict.
Yesterday, Wednesday (November 12, 2026), the US Soccer Federation informed the players of the U-17 national team that the United States was withdrawing from the World Cup organized by the International Federation of Federation (FIFA) in Qatar, due to security concerns.
