US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US will not launch an attack on Iran before November's US midterm congressional elections, asserting that the two countries are having "productive" talks about ending the six-month-old war.
"We are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "We will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the midterm elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd."
The war, which began in February when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, has helped drive Trump's domestic approval ratings downward and is weighing heavily on his fellow Republicans as they seek to preserve their narrow legislative majorities in November's election.
Some 60% of Americans - including one in four Republicans - disapprove of how Trump is handling the situation in Iran, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. The conflict has pushed gasoline prices sharply higher at a time when voters say their top concern is the cost of living.
Trump has repeatedly said he expects oil prices to drop after the elections, but he has not offered a detailed plan for exiting the war.
Proposals exchanged aimed at ending war, opening Strait of Hormuz
Iran and the US have exchanged proposals in recent weeks aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy shipping route. Trump rejected Tehran's latest offer.
Iran's state media reported on Thursday that Tehran would not abandon uranium enrichment or hand over its uranium stockpile, citing the head of the country's Atomic Energy Organization, days after US Vice President JD Vance told Reuters that Iran must make "meaningful" reductions in its enrichment capacity.
The US, Israel and Western allies have long accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, an accusation Iran has denied.
US imposes fresh sanctions on Iran's shadow fleet
The US imposed fresh sanctions on Iran on Thursday, targeting individuals, networks and 17 vessels for transporting Iranian crude, oil products and petrochemicals, the Treasury Department said, as Washington stepped up economic pressure on Tehran.
The sanctions are part of the department's "Operation Economic Outcast," which aims to cut Iran's funding for the war with the US, missile construction, cyberattacks and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC.
"Today's action represents the most significant blow yet to Iran's remaining illicit maritime infrastructure by neutralizing the vast majority of the shadow fleet," a Treasury official told reporters on a call. "Treasury is cutting off the regime's last major source of illicit revenue and strengthening international pressure to hold Tehran accountable."
The move tightens the squeeze on Iranian oil sales after the US reimposed its blockade of Iranian ports on July 14 following the breakdown of a memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington to end the war.
Iran has only about 20 million barrels of crude oil left on vessels outside the blockade, off Singapore, Malaysia and China, the Treasury official said. The world uses about 100 million barrels of oil per day.
A second Treasury official said Iran has stopped loading and offloading crude oil vessels due to the blockade and sanctions.
Trump said on social media on Thursday that the US is having "productive discussions" with Iran over the war that began on February 28. Trump said the US will not attack Iran before the midterm elections on November 3.
An analyst said the fact that the US is sanctioning vessels after Iran has delivered virtually all of its oil at sea means the impact will be muted.
"This is economic warfare conducted in the rearview mirror, designed to generate headlines rather than results," said Brett Erickson, a managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors.
Vessels targeted by the US sanctions include the Comoros-flagged Paritosh, the Panama-flagged Bitu, and the Bahamas-flagged Gas Lucky.