Vance says US feels good about Iran deal as Qatari mediators leave Tehran

Senior figures in the Trump administration said on Monday, November 2, 2026, that a negotiated agreement with Iran was possible. The Times of Israel reported that the shift in tone followed an offer from Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though under strict conditions, and that Vice President JD Vance said the US was "feeling pretty good about prospects" of a deal. The same report said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was still understood to be pressing for attacks on Iran to resume.

Overnight, a Qatari mediation delegation left the Iranian capital after a stay of only a few hours, according to the Israeli Telegram channel Abu Ali Express, which also said Vance had described some progress and had stated that no ultimatum had been set for reaching an agreement. News.co.il reported that the Qataris departed after sensitive meetings in Tehran and that no official account of what was discussed had been released.

What Trump said

President Donald Trump addressed the prospects for a deal in a post on Truth Social, the social media platform he owns. Pointing to a fall in oil prices that he said came to almost $10 a barrel, he wrote that people believed there would not be a war with Iran and that Tehran was seeking an agreement at the earliest opportunity, concluding: "It could happen!" Israeli political commentator Amit Segal circulated a Hebrew rendering of the same post to his followers.

Abu Ali Express separately quoted Trump telling his final rally before the elections that the Iranians want to reach an agreement and that it may well happen. The Times of Israel said Trump also spoke on Monday at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, where he indicated he might be reconsidering the idea of renewed strikes.

The election backdrop

The remarks came a day before the US midterm elections, in which voters choose members of Congress halfway through a presidential term. According to The Times of Israel, energy prices have been among the leading issues of the campaign, having risen since fighting broke out earlier this year with joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran. In recent weeks, the paper reported, Trump had hinted that attacks on Iran could be renewed once voting in the United States closes on Tuesday. The paper described Monday's comments as part of a recurring pattern in which the president has alternated between signals of escalation and of diplomacy.

Why the Strait of Hormuz matters

The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow sea passage linking the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, lying between Iran to the north and the Arabian Peninsula to the south. It is one of the most important routes for shipments of oil and gas from Gulf producers to world markets, which is why any disruption there feeds directly into energy prices. The reports do not set out the conditions Iran attached to its offer to reopen the waterway.

Qatar's role

Qatar, a small Gulf state, has acted as a go-between in several regional disputes in recent years, including indirect talks between Israel and Hamas. Its delegation's visit to Tehran was brief. News.co.il said the timing and circumstances of the trip had drawn wide interest given developments in the region, but neither Qatar nor Iran was reported to have commented on its outcome.

Israel's position

The only reference in the reports to the Israeli government's stance is The Times of Israel's account that the prime minister continued to urge that strikes on Iran be renewed. The paper did not quote Netanyahu or his office directly on this point. Abu Ali Express, for its part, cautioned its readers that the US has in the past carried out strikes on Iran while negotiations were said to be under way, a comment it offered as its own observation rather than as reporting on current plans.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports details what the Qatari delegation discussed in Tehran or whether it carried messages from Washington. Iran's conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz are not spelled out, and no Iranian official is quoted. There is no direct statement from Netanyahu or his office confirming the reported push for renewed strikes, and no account of whether any talks are scheduled after the US vote.