Trump Weighs Iran Deal or Strikes as Regional Officials Meet in Tehran

President Donald Trump said he is nearing a decision between a deal with Iran and renewed military action as regional officials gathered in Tehran on Monday, keeping risks to energy trade in focus.

“Do I finish it off, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal?” Trump said Sunday. He announced neither an agreement nor an order for new strikes, and gave no date for his decision.

Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan were meeting Iranian leaders in Tehran on Monday. Qatari mediators visited the Iranian capital Sunday. Iran has said it is preparing a military response to any new U.S. attack.

The Strait of Hormuz remains central to the dispute because it carries crude oil and other trade. Trump claims the United States controls the waterway and that crude flows have returned to prewar levels. Overall trade through the route remains sharply curtailed, while energy prices remain elevated amid shipping disruption and a squeeze in refining capacity.

Trump previously said U.S. strikes would not resume until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.