Trump Says US Keeps Status Quo With Iran After Meeting Qatari Prime Minister

Donald Trump stated on Monday that Iran militarily is effectively over, following a meeting at the White House with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani. The US president told reporters that the US is maintaining the status quo at the request of Iran's neighbours, and that renewed US attacks remain highly unlikely while adding that the military stays locked and loaded if conditions change.

Political Pressure And Markets

Trump pointed to positive momentum in talks to end the Middle East conflict, noting that his stance on de-escalation follows a difficult set of midterm election results for Republicans. Vice-President JD Vance and other senior figures blamed the Iran war for those election losses. Meanwhile, global oil prices dropped further following Trump's remarks, with Brent crude falling more than 1 percent to 91.50 dollars and US-traded oil dropping 1.2 percent to 85.82 dollars on Tuesday afternoon in Asia.

Impeachment Push

Republican congressman Thomas Massie launched a sharp attack against US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday and plans to force a vote in the House of Representatives this week to impeach him over the war. Trump defended Hegseth, calling the push a sham, while Hegseth stated he is not worried about the threat. Although the move is unlikely to succeed while Republicans hold Congress until January, Democrats indicated they are willing to pursue impeachment once they take control of both the House and Senate in the new session.

Context

Qatar serves as a key mediator between Washington and Tehran, helping facilitate indirect talks since the conflict began after joint US-Israeli strikes in February. Several Gulf neighbours, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have faced Iranian strikes and major air travel disruptions throughout the course of the war.