U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after landing aboard Air Force One July 19, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said he would soon make a decision whether to launch a “massive attack” on Iran after the conflict in the Middle East extended to a new battlefield in the Red Sea.
At the same time, Pakistan is looking for ways to revive stalled U.S.-Iran peace talks, Reuters reported Friday morning, citing three Pakistani sources.
Stocks roseAnd oil prices fell following this report, which gave investors new hope that the warring powers could find a way out to escape the escalation of hostilities.
Talk to Axios On Thursday, the president said the proposed strikes would be larger than anything seen in the war so far, and that Iran has not yet “received enough pain.”
“I’m considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever. I’m about to make a decision. We’re all ready for it,” Trump said in the interview.
U.S. forces have struck Iranian targets over the past two weeks, with Central Command carrying out a 13th straight night of strikes overnight.
Iranian officials have remained publicly defiant. But this week, Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited Islamabad for the second time in 10 days to participate in exploratory talks, according to Reuters.
Momeni, considered an ally of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, met with Pakistani leaders and its defense chief, Asim Munir, during his latest trip, the report said.
The desire by Pakistan, a mediator throughout the nearly five-month war between the United States and Iran, to find a diplomatic path forward came after an initiative initiated by China, Iran’s largest trading partner, Reuters reported.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee this week that Russia and China “are enabling, at different levels, some of the things that Iran is doing.”
But Trump said in a Truth on social media Friday morning, based on assurances he received from the Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinpingthe “two big countries that we often talk about when talking about Iran are not participating, in my opinion.”
“If they did, it would be very bad for them – certainly not in their best interest,” Trump wrote, citing their assurances.
Trump did not give a deadline for making a decision on a major attack on Iran, according to Axios. He said Israel would join the operation “in two minutes if I asked them,” but that Israel would potentially face retaliation from Iran if it participated.
The president also reiterated that Iran is willing to negotiate, but added that Tehran is not yet ready to strike a deal with the United States.
On Thursday, Trump said he would hold Iran responsible for new attacks by Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthis after the militant group claimed colliding with two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
“If they do this again, the United States will hold Iran responsible, as the Houthis are proxies and/or proxies for Iran, and major military sanctions will be imposed on Iran and, of course, the Houthis themselves,” he said in a Truth Social article. job.
The Houthis declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on Monday, threatening to interrupt the kingdom’s oil exports via the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Thursday they attacked U.S. military installations at a U.S. military base in Jordan, according to state media.
Speaking to reporters Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Trump’s approach to the Iran war a “head for an eye.”
“Honestly, that’s what it’s going to be,” he said. “They will pay a very heavy price for what they do. They are already paying a very heavy price.”
Iran threatens EuropeMeanwhile, the UK said it “stands ready to defend itself 24/7” after Iran called the country “accomplice” of the United States over the use of British military bases by US forces.
Shortly after the start of the US-Iran war, the United Kingdom allowed the United States to use its British bases for defensive operations. This agreement was extended last week and has not been modified by the new British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham.
Read more news about the US-Iran warIran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that “any party that in any way participates in military aggression against Iran will bear responsibility for the consequences and repercussions of its decision.”
“The British government has chosen to align itself with the aggressors, reducing its position to that of accomplice of the United States and Israel in a brutal war against the Iranian nation,” the text adds.
In a separate statement, an Iranian official warned that any European nation providing military bases or territory to the United States would place European countries “in the ranks of aggressors,” according to state media.
