President Trump says it is “highly unlikely” he would order new strikes on Iran if negotiations show progress

President Donald Trump said it was “highly unlikely” that he would order new U.S. bombing of Iran if negotiations between the United States and Iran show progress, according to multiple reports published late Sunday and Monday. The remarks were framed by news organizations as a warning that while a return to strikes is unlikely if talks continue advancing, the administration could still take military action if developments warrant it.

Several outlets reported that the Trump administration is pursuing indirect channels, with mediation carried out through Qatar and other Gulf intermediaries. The reported diplomacy effort comes as U.S. officials have repeatedly linked Iran-related negotiations to deterrence and the potential for enforcement through military force.

The president’s comments were described as addressing scenarios in which continued progress in talks would reduce the need for additional strikes. CNBC reported that Trump also cautioned he could still strike even as he said new attacks were unlikely if negotiations move forward.

The remarks were covered by The Hill, CNBC, and other outlets, which characterized Trump’s position as contingent on the trajectory of negotiations rather than on a fixed commitment to avoid force. The coverage also tied the statement to ongoing U.S. efforts to test whether Iran will engage in a way that can reduce tensions.

The practical effect of the president’s statement, as described by the reporting, is to set public expectations about the conditions under which the administration would decide against or toward additional military options. That kind of messaging can influence regional calculations about escalation risk, as well as Iran’s assessment of whether diplomacy is producing tangible outcomes.

No official White House readout or transcript of the remarks was included in the items provided for this report. As a result, the specific forum, exact wording beyond the quoted characterization reported by multiple outlets, and the administration’s detailed criteria for judging “progress” in negotiations were not independently confirmed in the supplied material.

Administration officials have not publicly detailed in the provided materials what specific negotiation milestones would meet the threshold implied by Trump’s remarks, nor did the reporting supplied here describe any new order, strike authorization, or operational change. For now, the most concrete action reflected in the coverage is the president’s stated view of how U.S. use of force would likely be conditioned on the progress of talks mediated by Qatar and Gulf interlocutors.