President Donald Trump has sent conflicting signals regarding the timeline for potential military action against Iran.

During a Friday press briefing at the White House, when asked why he would delay action against Iran until after the midterm elections rather than acting immediately, Trump said it was "possible" to act right away.

This came just one day after Trump explicitly stated on Thursday that the United States "will not attack Iran before the midterm elections," and described ongoing negotiations with Iran as "productive."

This abrupt reversal has made it increasingly difficult for observers to gauge the White House's policy direction, and has kept investors highly vigilant about the uncertainty surrounding the Middle East situation.

Trump's Contradictory Stance on Iran

When asked why he would not act now and about the possibility of taking military action against Iran before the U.S. midterm elections, President Trump said: "We may do that." This stands in stark contrast to his earlier statement posted on Truth Social.

On Friday, Trump also commented on the Houthi attack on a Saudi airport, calling it "not a good thing" and saying it made him "unhappy."

According to Xinhua News Agency, President Trump posted on social media on October 8 stating that the United States and Iran are engaged in "productive" consultations and that the U.S. would not launch an attack on Iran before the congressional midterm elections.

In the same statement, Trump emphasized that Iran is in an "extremely bad state" both economically and militarily, and declared in capital letters that "Iran will not have nuclear weapons."

Before Trump's post, on Wednesday evening U.S. Eastern Time, U.S. media reported that Trump was considering a new strike against Iran before the midterms. The related military action could potentially be carried out before the U.S. midterm elections, or possibly before the Israeli parliamentary elections in late October.

U.S. Imposes New Round of Sanctions on Iran

According to CCTV News, on October 8 local time, information published on the U.S. Treasury Department website showed that the United States imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran, targeting 17 vessels transporting Iranian crude oil, petroleum products, and petrochemical products.

U.S. Treasury officials also stated that they estimate approximately 20 million barrels of Iranian crude oil remain stranded on vessels outside the scope of the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports.

Officials said that due to the U.S. blockade and sanctions, Iran has halted loading and unloading operations on crude oil vessels.

Meanwhile, oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz have dropped significantly. According to the Financial Times, oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz have in fact declined sharply, with preliminary data showing only 4 million barrels of crude oil passed through on Tuesday, far below the weekly average of approximately 15 million barrels per day in late September.

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that before the United States and Israel jointly launched military operations on February 28 this year, the daily average oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz in the fourth quarter of 2025 was 21.6 million barrels, accounting for approximately one-fifth of global oil consumption.