Trump in 'no hurry' on Iran deal; Rubio says no decision

As of 9:26 a.m. ET, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026 (updated; first published 7:13 a.m. ET)

President Donald Trump said Washington was in no hurry to strike a deal with Iran and declined to say whether he expected the United States to go back to war with Tehran after Tuesday's midterm elections, Reuters reported on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters traveling with him on Saturday night, Trump said the United States still had targets in Iran. "We still have to take care of, I would say one or two sites, but we can do that in in 10 minutes," he said, according to the White House pool report. "You probably could look at Pickaxe Mountain, and you have to take care of that."

Trump said negotiations with Iran were "going fine," but "they're not very reliable... They make a deal and then they back out," according to a clip posted by the White House Rapid Response account. "Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. They want to make a deal; we'll find out about that," he said.

Asked by a New York Times reporter whether he expected to go back to war against Iran as soon as this week, Trump replied: "Why would you ask such a stupid question? Let's say I did — would I tell you?"

Rubio: 'The President prefers to solve it diplomatically'

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that Trump has not decided whether to launch new strikes against Iran but would prefer to resolve the conflict diplomatically, Reuters reported.

Speaking at the close of a G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, Rubio said he did not know of a specific timeframe for the Qatar-led talks, The National reported. "If there is a diplomatic solution, we would be open to it," he said, adding that any agreement could not endanger U.S. national security. He said the United States has "everything we need to be successful" if military action were required, but "the President prefers to solve it diplomatically."

Talks in Doha

Iranian negotiators held a third consecutive day of talks with Qatari mediators in Doha on Sunday aimed at a deal to end the war, an official briefed on the discussions told Reuters. The talks ended with altered proposals but no breakthrough, Reuters reported on Monday. The negotiators left on Sunday, but not because of any problems in the talks, and a draft proposal was being circulated, the official said, without elaborating.

Contacts between Iran and the United States to end the war are continuing, Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Monday. "I can tell you that the dialogues are continuing. However, the issue is complex," spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, adding that the two sides were exchanging messages through mediators, Reuters reported. He said the basis of the talks remains Iran's seven-step proposal, "which is now condensed, making it possible to implement it within two days."

Trump has said the United States will not launch new attacks on Iran before the vote, though he has not ruled out further military action afterward, according to Reuters.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told state media that talks on a "two-day proposal" were continuing but that no final conclusion had been reached, Reuters reported. Al Jazeera quoted him as saying Iranian and Qatari negotiators had developed a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days of a potential agreement with Washington.

"We are doing our best in this process, and we hope that there is rationality on the other side so that they prioritize diplomacy over other paths," Araqchi said, according to Reuters.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday ordered the armed forces to be prepared for any attack, Reuters reported. Iran has repeatedly said it would respond to any new attacks by striking U.S. and Israeli targets in neighboring countries.

Pezeshkian: Leader gave government 'certain authorities'

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Tehran was trying to resolve the crisis through dialogue and that the Supreme Leader had given the government "certain authorities" in that regard, the state news agency IRNA reported.

"We are trying to solve the problem through dialogue, and in this regard the Leader of the Revolution has also given the government certain authorities," Pezeshkian said at a meeting with provincial governors and mayors of major cities, according to IRNA. He did not say what those authorities were, and IRNA did not elaborate.

Pezeshkian also said Iran's enemies "cannot make our Iran surrender with war" and that "we stand firmly against their lies and excessive demands," IRNA reported. The remarks IRNA published did not mention the United States or the Doha talks by name. The quotes are GROKsiNEWS.com translations from Persian.

Update, Nov. 2, 2026: This story has been updated to report that the Doha talks ended without a breakthrough while contacts continue, according to Reuters, and with remarks by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reported by IRNA.