US President Donald Trump spoke on Monday (November 10, 2026) about “positive momentum” towards reaching an agreement with Iran to end the war in the Middle East, following his meeting with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, whose country is contributing to mediation efforts between Tehran and Washington.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he had an “excellent conversation” with the Qatari Prime Minister at the White House, and that the conversation mainly touched on Iran. He added, "Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others prefer to maintain the status quo, that is, in other words, to continue the greatest naval blockade in history, and Operation New Iron Gate... and subsequently (the blockade) on land and at sea."
The United States has imposed a naval blockade on the ports of the Islamic Republic since April, in response to Tehran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the American-Israeli war against it in February.
Forming a “task force” to obstruct Tehran’s trade routes on land and in the Caspian Sea
In addition, last week, Washington announced the launch of a task force aimed at obstructing Iran’s trade routes across land and the Caspian Sea, saying that this aims to prevent it from importing weapons systems and banned materials.
Trump continued: “We see positive momentum toward ending this conflict, and we will make sure that the interests of the United States are protected at all times.” While he stressed that Washington was ready to launch new strikes on Iran, he said that this was "highly unlikely." He stressed: “We agreed that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon, and this is non-negotiable!”
In a subsequent post, he reiterated his position, saying from the White House that “Iran, militarily speaking, is effectively finished. We are content to maintain the status quo. But if we have to return, we are fully prepared and equipped to act.”
In recent weeks, Trump has threatened to resume strikes on the Islamic Republic. American media reported that this might happen after the midterm elections that took place last Tuesday. But the president told CNN on Sunday that a resumption of war was "highly unlikely," but he added, "I will do so if necessary, but we have dealt them very harsh blows."
Donald Trump acknowledged that the war with Iran, which began with American-Israeli strikes in late February, was one of the reasons for the Republicans' defeat in the elections and the Democrats' control of Congress.
Riyadh announced on Monday (November 9, 2026) that the East-West oil pipeline was targeted, which did not affect its operations, while its schools will return to adopting distance learning as of Tuesday, as strikes continue between the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and the Iran-backed Houthis.
The official news agency (SPA) quoted an official source in the Saudi Ministry of Energy as saying, “Today, Monday (...) the East-West pipeline in the Medina region was targeted, resulting in a limited fire, which emergency teams were able to extinguish.” The source confirmed that this did not result in any casualties or affect “the operational operations of the line,” without indicating the party responsible for this targeting.
The line is gaining increasing importance for Saudi Arabia in light of Iran's restriction of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the US-Israeli war on it in February. The line allows Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude exporter, to transport oil from production fields in the east to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, and export via tankers without the need to use the Strait of Hormuz. The line has been targeted more than once since the return of escalation in Yemen in July against the backdrop of the war in the Middle East.
Today, Monday (September 9, 2026), the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman ruled out the transfer of enriched materials outside the country. Ismail Baghaei said during his weekly press conference that with regard to enriched nuclear materials, he stressed that transporting them outside the country is absolutely not on the table, and there is basically no justification for taking such a measure, according to the Iranian Mehr News Agency.
Regarding nuclear cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, Baghaei said that IAEA inspectors visited Iran about ten days ago to conduct periodic inspections of the Bushehr nuclear plant, explaining that the recent inspections were limited to the Bushehr nuclear plant and a limited number of facilities that had the necessary conditions to conduct the inspection.
He pointed out that other Iranian nuclear facilities were damaged, stressing that there is currently no specific protocol for inspecting the damaged facilities, and that the International Atomic Energy Agency does not currently have a mechanism or specific instructions in this regard. He added that the continuing American threats against Iranian nuclear facilities make raising the issue of inspection of the affected facilities unjustified.
Baghaei added: “If the United States responds to Iran’s demands, the region will witness positive developments within two days, and security will return to the Strait of Hormuz.” Baghaei explained that the previous Iranian proposal to reach an agreement to reopen the Strait within two days, instead of seven days in the initial proposal, is still on the table, according to what Bloomberg News Agency reported on Monday. He added: "These are not unreasonable demands, but rather they are demands that abandoning them would endanger both our interests and the security of the region."
