ATLANTA — US President Donald Trump has not made a decision about fresh strikes on Iran amid stalled peace talks, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday, at the close of the two-day G20 foreign ministers' meeting he hosted in Atlanta, AFP reported.

Source: AFP, October 31, 2026

'The president has not made any decision,' Rubio told reporters. 'If he had wanted to act that way, he would have done so weeks, even months ago.' Talks through mediators including Qatar 'have never stopped', he added, but he declined to give a timeline for them.

Source: MENA Today, reporting Rubio's Atlanta press conference, October 31, 2026

No decisionRubio on further US strikes on Iran
G20Foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, ended Saturday without a joint statement
Nov 3US midterm elections — reports have speculated an attack could come after them
Never stoppedRubio on mediated talks with Iran

Military option kept open, diplomacy preferred

'We can achieve military objectives if we seek to,' Rubio said, adding: 'I have no announcement in that regard with you today, and nor do we take any of it lightly.' While he accused Tehran of 'actively and openly' targeting commercial vessels, he also expressed Trump's preference for a diplomatic solution to end the war with Iran, AFP reported.

Source: AFP, October 31, 2026

'I'm not going to characterize neither the progress on those talks nor any timeframe on it, other than to tell you that if there is a diplomatic solution, we would be open to it,' Rubio said. He added that any deal would have to protect US national security and address the core concerns that led to the conflict, according to reports of the press conference.

Source: MENA Today, reporting Rubio's Atlanta press conference, October 31, 2026

Why the timing matters

Rubio's remarks came amid reports that Trump could order an attack after Tuesday's midterm elections — speculation he neither confirmed nor endorsed. Earlier on Saturday, Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned Washington against any new strikes and ordered an 'immediate, unrestricted' response to any threat, in remarks Awaaz Punjab has reported separately. On Thursday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told AFP: 'We are calling for a diplomatic solution, and really, escalation does not benefit anyone.'

Source: AFP, October 31, 2026

For the Gulf region — home to lakhs of Punjabi and Indian workers, and the route for much of the world's oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz — the difference between a diplomatic track and a fresh round of strikes is direct: it shapes oil prices, flight routes and the safety of workers across the Gulf states. For now, on Washington's own account, no decision has been taken.

Source: The National (UAE), via Real News Hub, October 31, 2026