US President Donald Trump told reporters he is not rushing to a decision on Iran following a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Sky TG24. Trump said Tehran appears to want an agreement, that Washington still has "one or two sites" to deal with, and that attention is on the Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site. The remarks came as Iran's Supreme Leader issued a warning against renewed American strikes, and Iranian military spokesmen said any new conflict would not be confined to a single battlefield.
Why it matters
The exchange sets the tone for a fragile pause in hostilities that both sides are describing in very different terms. Washington is framing the moment as an opening for negotiations on its terms; Tehran is framing it as deterrence backed by the threat of a wider war. With Gulf shipping still disrupted and Qatar pressing a mediation effort, the next few weeks will show whether the lull holds or becomes a prelude to another round of strikes.
Iran warns a new war would outlast the last one
Iran's Supreme Leader, identified in the ANSA report as Khamenei, cautioned the United States against resuming attacks after accounts appeared in the media. According to ANSA, he ordered an immediate response to any hostile threat, with no geographic limits attached.
Iranian military officials expanded on that message through state television. Army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said a fresh war could run longer than the previous one and that the American president would not be able to set either the timing or the terms of how it ends. Hossein Mohebi, a spokesman for the Revolutionary Guards, said the force has added the identification of new targets and planning for new geographic scenarios to its program. He said the recent instruction from the leadership opened a new chapter on possible future conflicts, and that in any confrontation with the United States there would be no geographic boundaries — a wide theater of operations has been defined to inflict damage on the enemy and to achieve full deterrence. In his words, no country would afterward be able to take a hostile political stance toward Iran or harbor designs on its territory.
Reports of planned strikes and a divided Israeli debate
The warnings followed Italian media reports that Washington is weighing new raids after the midterm elections, with Tehran threatening the Gulf in return, as RaiNews put it. Il Fatto Quotidiano reported that US raids on Iran could begin from November 4. These are press accounts, not confirmed announcements, and should be treated as such.
Inside Israel, opposition leader Yair Golan of the Democrats party said Netanyahu lacks the public trust needed to launch a fresh offensive against Iran, which press reports say is being examined together with the United States. Writing on X, Golan warned of the risk of a new escalation, said the two countries had reached a pattern of recurring clashes with Tehran, and called this the measure of Netanyahu's failure. The excerpt of his post carried in the source material ends there.
Elections, protests and a president preparing consultations
Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, said he will receive the official election results on Wednesday from Judge Noam Sohlberg, chairman of the central elections committee and a deputy president of the Supreme Court. Herzog said he will then begin consultations at the President's Residence, which he said will be open to every parliamentary list and party.
Speaking at a memorial ceremony for Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first president, Herzog said candidates climb very tall trees during a campaign but the election is over. He urged party representatives to arrive with open minds and, as he put it, open hearts, to listen, offer ideas and find creative solutions to avoid another round of voting. He said the results are an established fact and that this week, at the President's Residence, he will try to provide ladders so the parties can come back down to reality in a measured and prudent way.
Meanwhile, Israeli police said groups of ultra-Orthodox protesters demonstrated against military conscription outside an IDF recruitment office at Tel Hashomer. Police said several roads in the area were blocked by what they called an illegal protest and that crowd-control measures were being taken. According to police, the demonstrators kept gathering despite attempts at dialogue, confronting officers and shouting insults including "Nazis" and "terrorists." Channel 12 reported that about 230 ultra-Orthodox men were expected to enlist that day.
Oil flows recover as a Qatari tanker is hit
Persian Gulf oil exports have climbed back above their pre-war levels through an improvised shipping arrangement operating under US protection, according to the source reporting. The setup allows tankers to keep transiting the Strait of Hormuz despite Iranian attacks. Data from the ship-tracking firm Kpler showed Middle East oil flows averaging more than 24 million barrels a day in the week ending October 18, above the pre-war figure of 23.3 million. About 14 million barrels a day passed through Hormuz, equal to 82 percent of pre-war levels.
Qatar's state news agency reported that a Qatari vessel was attacked while transiting Gulf waters. The strike on Friday evening hit the liquefied natural gas carrier Al Mayeda, owned by Qatar Gas Transport Company, according to the Qatar News Agency. It may be one of four tankers Iran says were struck in recent days. No crew members were injured, there was no environmental impact, and the vessel is in safe condition and fully operational, the agency said. Qatar, which is mediating in the conflict, has stepped up diplomatic efforts in recent days to try to restart talks between Washington and Tehran.
What to watch: whether Washington's talk of an agreement turns into actual negotiations, and whether Herzog's consultations produce a stable Israeli government — both will shape how far the current pause in fighting extends.
