Scofield Biblical Institute and Theological Seminary

President Donald Trump claimed that the war with Iran will end “right after” the midterm elections in the U.S. on Sunday.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio abruptly ended talks and ordered the Iranian delegation to leave the U.S. after negotiations stalled, yet again, with no clear sign of a breakthrough more than seven months into the conflict, an official confirmed to Fox News Digital.

And now, President Donald Trump is directly warning Iran it’s “possible” he will go harder with strikes in the Middle East after the midterm elections in November and revealed the U.S. military has significantly rebuilt its arsenal in recent months.

The latest messaging from the White House and State Department signals an increasingly strained diplomatic track, after days of negotiations failed to close the gap between Washington and Tehran over the terms of ending the war.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States remains open to negotiations with Iran but warned there “will be consequences” if Tehran fails to honor its commitments. (Reuters/Eloisa Lopez/Pool)

Asked in an interview with Time whether he would “ramp up bombing after the midterms,” Trump replied: “Possible.”

Further pressed on whether such an escalation was under consideration, the president declined to discuss potential targets but said the U.S. had spent months rebuilding its arsenal.

“We have a lot of weapons. You know, we’ve been stocking up for the last six months,” Trump said.

Trump also used the word “possible” when asked whether he “might annihilate Iran.”

After little progress in weekend meetings involving Iranian officials and Qatari mediators, Rubio told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation on Monday that they needed to leave New York, an official confirmed to Fox News Digital after Axios first reported on the confrontation.

Rubio concluded the Iranians had “overstayed their welcome” after the high-level U.N. meetings had ended. Araghchi had remained in New York for indirect talks seeking to end the blockade of oil and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, ending the conflict overall and restarting negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, steps out of his plane in Muscat, Oman, April 25, 2025. (AP)

Trump said in his speech to the United Nation’s General Assembly last week that he would continue to make sure Iran is not able to obtain nuclear weapons.

Araghchi and his team departed early Tuesday. Iran disputed the U.S. account, saying the delegation’s Monday night departure had already been scheduled and communicated to the State Department on Sept. 17.

The order to leave amounted to an unusually sharp diplomatic rebuke at a moment when mediators are still trying to keep negotiations alive.

The latest talks have centered on a seven-day confidence-building proposal aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and reviving the June framework that briefly halted the fighting. Qatar has been shuttling messages between Washington and Tehran, with the two sides still divided largely over the sequencing of concessions — including when Iran would reopen the strait, what nuclear steps Tehran would take and what economic relief the U.S. would provide in return.

Trump rejected Iran’s latest proposal over the weekend, later saying Tehran’s offer to reopen the strait was “not good enough. Nearly.” He also denied reports that he had offered sanctions relief or the release of frozen Iranian funds in exchange for movement on the nuclear issue.

Donald Trump - White House - Feb. 18, 2026

President Donald Trump

Despite the diplomatic stalemate, oil flows through the region have been recovering. Estimates cited by major banks put recent Middle East exports close to pre-war levels, helping ease some of the supply fears that sent crude prices sharply higher earlier in the conflict.

But the lack of a deal is still putting pressure on energy markets. Brent crude settled above $103 a barrel Wednesday, while U.S. crude closed above $90, with oil posting steep September gains as traders weighed stalled U.S.-Iran talks against the recovery in regional supply.

Americans are still feeling that pressure at the pump. The national average for regular gasoline was about $4.43 a gallon Wednesday, compared with roughly $3.15 a year earlier, while diesel stood above $6.40 a gallon.

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The Strait of Hormuz remains central to both the negotiations and the economic stakes. Before the war, roughly one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed through the waterway, making even partial disruption a major driver of global energy prices.

ByJPOST EDITORIAL

SEPTEMBER 30, 2026 05:57

An Israeli arriving at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport today could find wine, dates, or other such souvenirs purchased in the West Bank carrying consequences far more serious than excess baggage.

Since September 22, the Netherlands has prohibited goods originating in Israeli communities in the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights, including items carried in personal luggage. Intentional violations can result in up to six years’ imprisonment; even unintentional violations can carry a sentence of up to one year.

Israeli passengers have reported having their bags searched, although Dutch Customs claims inspections are risk-based and random rather than systematic.

Then there is the fall of relations with the UK. Reports emerged this week that passengers arriving at Luton from Tel Aviv were separated from other travelers and had their luggage searched. The Home Office denied racial profiling, saying searches are based on intelligence. Unlike the Netherlands, Britain’s proposed restrictions on settlement goods have not yet taken effect.

Exterior of the representative office of the Netherlands, after Israel said it would revoke the diplomatic status of Dutch diplomats, in Ramallah, West Bank, September 28, 2026. (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMAD TOROKMAN)

Also, at the Labour conference on Monday, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband declared that Palestinian suffering was “a stain on the conscience of the world” and addressed those angered by Britain’s previous approach directly: “We hear you. You were right.”

He went further. Britain, he promised, would “call out ethnic cleansing by the settler terrorists,” evidence of war crimes in Gaza and what he called Israel’s “illegal occupation of Palestine.” The government will ban settlement imports and target British financial, construction, and service links to settlements.

Ireland-Israeli relations on all-time low

Ireland almost seems an afterthought. Its relations with Israel have already deteriorated dramatically, with the political hostility now spilling into sport. Ireland’s soccer coach recently declared before the much-disputed match between the two countries, “We are not playing with genocide. We are playing against genocide. We are playing against Israel.”

Yet not all is doom and gloom. Look south and east, and a very different picture emerges.

While European governments erect new barriers, Morocco is preparing to upgrade its relations with Israel to full embassies. They have agreed to expand direct flights, pursue investment and taxation agreements, and arrange reciprocal high-level visits. This has proceeded despite anti-normalization protests across Morocco. More important for Israel is the United Arab Emirates.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to the UAE at the invitation of President Mohamed bin Zayed. The UAE publicly confirmed the visit, which is noteworthy after years when sensitive contacts were often kept deliberately quiet.

Europe should see irony in situation

Europe should contemplate the irony here. Some Muslim-majority states that live in Israel’s neighborhood increasingly see cooperation with the Jewish state through the prism of shared strategic interests: Iran, Islamism, security, technology, trade, and regional stability.

Their governments certainly disagree with Israel, sometimes sharply, and Morocco’s protests demonstrate that normalization remains contested by some sectors of the population. But in general, their response is engagement.

In parts of Europe, meanwhile, relations with Israel are moving in the opposite direction. Governments face large domestic constituencies demanding increasingly punitive measures against Israel, and Miliband’s appeal to “millions of people in this country” demonstrated how directly domestic politics now intersects with foreign policy. The resulting picture is extraordinary.

In Abu Dhabi, an Israeli prime minister can spend hours discussing common threats with an Arab leader. In Morocco, governments are working toward ambassadors, investment and more flights. In Amsterdam, Israelis wonder whether customs officers will inspect their suitcases for a bottle of Judean wine.

There is something deeply strange about an Israel increasingly able to discuss its future with Arab and Muslim states while its citizens face growing suspicion and restrictions in European countries that once regarded friendship with Israel as essential.

Some in the Middle East have carefully cultivated bridges with Israel. Europe should think very carefully before it starts tearing its own down.

Iranian negotiators kicked out of US as talks stall, Trump lays out ‘possible’ timeline for more strikes

Iran: Israel’s ‘days are numbered,’ UAE ties are ‘dangerous’

Israel’s peculiar state of affairs: Arab nations friendlier, Europe’s relations fall – editorial

Ireland-Israeli relations on all-time low

Europe should see irony in situation

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