After the midterm elections concluded, U.S. President Trump convened his national security team for a first dedicated meeting, with three options currently under consideration: launching a new round of airstrikes, continuing economic sanctions and blockade pressure, or reaching a negotiated agreement. At the same time, multiple international mediators are intensively engaged in shuttle diplomacy, and Iran has also sent signals to Moscow.

According to a report, on November 4 local time, Trump stated that he never said the Iran war would end immediately after the U.S. midterm elections. Trump said, "The Iran war will end when I want it to end," and that the end of the Iran war must be done properly.

Subsequently, on November 5, according to a report citing U.S. officials, Trump said after meeting with his national security advisors that day that with the midterm elections over, he would soon decide whether to resume full-scale war in Iran. U.S. officials revealed that this was the first dedicated meeting between Trump and senior national security advisors on the Iran issue after the midterm elections, and the meeting was held within the framework of the routine weekly intelligence briefing.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, "Now we have to make a decision... Do we go further with strikes to ensure Iran's nuclear program is completely terminated, so that it can never happen again?"

He then added: "If possible, I would rather not destroy the rest of the country, but maybe I have to. You will know soon."

Three Options

According to Axios, Trump is currently considering at least three paths:

First, launching a new round of airstrikes aimed at completely eliminating Iran's nuclear program.

Second, continuing economic strangulation by maintaining existing sanctions and blockade pressure.

Third, reaching a negotiated agreement, but it must include significant concessions to Iran.

The midterm elections had previously been seen by the outside world as a key juncture in Trump's Iran policy 鈥?after the election results came out, whether he would untie his hands and launch a new round of bombing has been a variable closely watched by all parties.

Diplomatic Shuttle Diplomacy Intensifies

On the same day Trump held his internal meeting, diplomatic efforts were equally active.

Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi held multiple rounds of phone communications with mediators from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Egypt and other countries.

Qatari mediators continued consultations with Iran and the White House on a two-day step-by-step draft. According to regional sources, the framework of the proposal is as follows:

Day One: The United States lifts the maritime blockade and releases some of Iran's frozen assets; in return, Iran formally invites the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send inspectors to the bombed nuclear facilities, based on an agreement reached in Cairo a year ago.

Day Two: The Strait of Hormuz reopens, followed by the resumption of nuclear negotiations, focusing on Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpile.

Iran Sends Signals to Moscow

Meanwhile, Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council 鈥?a key figure in indirect U.S.-Iran negotiations 鈥?made a special trip to the Kremlin on Thursday to meet with Russian President Putin.

The meeting took place several days after Putin's phone call with Rezaei, during which Putin had already offered to serve as a mediator between the U.S. and Iran.

After the meeting, Rezaei said he delivered a handwritten letter from Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei to Putin, and said Putin clearly expressed willingness to help push for an end to the war.

But Rezaei also laid out Iran's bottom line: "We told Mr. Putin that we have announced seven conditions regarding diplomacy to the Americans, and until the Americans fulfill our seven conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will not open, and no negotiations will take place."

Military Preparations Continue

Beyond diplomatic efforts, military preparations have not ceased.

A U.S. official revealed that U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is refining plans for restarting large-scale combat operations against Iran, but has so far not received new instructions from Washington.

It is widely believed that an important signal of whether the U.S. plans to launch strikes again will be the arrival of a third U.S. Navy carrier strike group in the Middle East region.

Currently, the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group will begin a multi-day port call in Singapore starting Friday, and is not expected to arrive in the CENTCOM area of responsibility until mid-November at the earliest.