Follow-Up: U.S. Envoy Says Strike on Iran Could Come as Soon as This Weekend; Trump Says He Knows "Nothing About It" as Iranian Lawmaker Warns U.S. Backers Will Be Classed as Hostile States
Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Türkiye and special envoy for Syria, said in an interview with podcast host Mario Nawfal while visiting the Gulf on October 23 that a U.S. strike on Iran could come as soon as this weekend. Asked whether there could be a strike this weekend, Barrack replied: "Absolutely." He also said the United States was not seeking to overthrow Iran's government and that the consequence for Tehran "won't be regime change." Asked by reporters about Barrack's remarks before his Fort Myers rally, President Donald Trump said the ambassador "is a pretty powerful man, I guess," adding, "I don't know anything about it," according to Reuters — distancing himself from the envoy's harder line.
Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told the Financial Times in an interview published on October 23 that the United States is preparing for a prolonged confrontation with Iran: a year from now, Washington could still be in a stalemate with Tehran, with no nuclear deal reached and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz not restored to pre-conflict levels. Waltz said the president and the U.S. Navy can maintain the blockade of Iranian ports "for the foreseeable future," and that the administration is continuing to tighten economic pressure on Iran.
On the Iranian side, Fada Hossein Maleki, a member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told RIA Novosti in an interview on October 23 that if military operations resume, Iran will be able to identify which regional countries are prepared to support U.S. forces. "In that case, the decisions taken by Iran may go beyond strikes on the military bases of those countries, and those countries themselves will be classified as hostile states," he said. Maleki also said Iran's condition for starting any talks with the United States is that Washington return to implementing the Islamabad Memorandum.
On the military buildup, The Wall Street Journal reported in early October that a third U.S. carrier strike group, led by USS Theodore Roosevelt, departed San Diego on September 27 for the Middle East, followed a day later by the Makin Island amphibious ready group carrying more than 2,000 Marines. U.S. officials said three U.S. aircraft carriers are expected to be positioned around Iran by the end of November.
Trump also said on Friday that the United States could end the war with Iran quickly, while questioning whether Washington should seek a swift conclusion or allow the conflict to gradually wind down. According to Reuters, Trump said earlier this month that the United States would not launch an attack on Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, a position the White House reaffirmed on October 22. At his Fort Myers rally the same day, he also returned to the U.S. operation's codename, "Epic Fury," saying the United States might carry out another small-scale operation of that kind.
Oil prices rose on Friday amid the tensions, with Brent crude futures settling up 3.1% at $116.72 a barrel.
Source: GSM·USA
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 2026 年 10 月 6 日，特朗普在马里兰州 Baltimore 出席海事主题活动发表讲话（资料图）。 Photo: The White House via Wikimedia Commons（公共领域）
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