WASHINGTON/TEHRAN – US President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States would not attack Iran before the Nov 3 midterm elections, even as a US blockade remained in place, while describing ongoing talks with Tehran as productive.

"We will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"We are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran," Trump said, adding that the country was in "very bad condition" economically and militarily.

He said the US blockade would remain "in full force and effect", while claiming that 22 million barrels of oil had passed through the Strait of Hormuz overnight, with none coming from or going to Iran.

Trump concluded his post by declaring, "IRAN WILL NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!"

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The Financial Times reported Thursday that oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz had fallen sharply, with preliminary data showing just 4 million barrels passing through on Tuesday, down from a weekly average of 15 million barrels per day in late September.

Before the United States and Israel launched a joint military campaign against Iran on Feb 28, an average of 21.6 million barrels of oil passed through the strait daily in the final quarter of 2025, accounting for roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption, according to the US Energy Information Administration. 

Iran to respond to US views on 7-day plan

Speaking on the sidelines of a funeral ceremony in Tehran on Thursday, Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said his country will in the coming days submit its response to the US views on its proposed plan to end the war, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Araghchi said that the negotiations are continuing and that Tehran and Washington are exchanging messages through mediators.

He said Iran has received the US views on its seven-day plan and is "currently reviewing" them.

Iran conveyed its plan to the United States to cease hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz on Sept 22 through mediators on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Under the plan, Tehran proposed ending the conflict and reopening the waterway within seven days, provided that the United States accepted its conditions. Iranian authorities have repeatedly said that ending the conflict on all fronts, including Lebanon, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz are the sole focus of the ongoing diplomatic process.

Iranian, Russian presidents discuss boosting ties

On Thursday night, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin exchanged views on strengthening bilateral economic cooperation, the official news agency IRNA reported.

The two sides discussed the issue in a meeting after arriving in Turkmenistan for a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States that starts Friday in the Caspian Sea resort of Avaza.

The two leaders called for stronger economic cooperation in energy, agriculture, transport and trade, IRNA reported.

Aircraft carrier returns to US

In another development, the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln returned to San Diego, California, on Thursday after a prolonged deployment that included combat operations against Iran.

More than 5,000 sailors and marines were aboard the carrier and its strike group during the deployment, the US Central Command said on X.

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The nuclear-powered carrier departed San Diego, California, in November 2025 and arrived in the Middle East in January, ahead of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran that began on Feb 28.