Trump says no US attack on Iran today as strike planning continues
Talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz have stalled, with Tehran wanting the blockade lifted first.
Published
Trump says the United States will not attack Iran today. He has pledged no strikes on Iran before November 3. He first set out a no-strike timeline on October 8, and crude oil fell below $90.50 in the days that followed.
The assurances have not stopped military planning. On October 23, Trump repeated the no-strike timeline and confirmed that he had directed US Central Command (CENTCOM) to draft an Iran strike plan with no deadline. The US is sending a third aircraft carrier strike group and 10,000 more personnel toward the Persian Gulf.
In the Strait of Hormuz, talks on reopening the waterway have stalled. Trump says flows through the strait now exceed pre-conflict levels. Iran says it has stopped illicit vessel traffic there, and that a blockade of its southern ports has cut its imports by 25 per cent, according to ISNA.
Such assurances have run alongside military planning rather than replacing it. A statement of no attack today adds to the reassurance, but it does not close the gap between contingency work at the Pentagon and an actual order. Trump has previously denied decisions that were later shown to have already been made. Traders have learned to treat each new "not today" as holding down the risk premium, the extra price paid for the chance of conflict, for now rather than removing it.
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