U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, that Washington faces a choice between further military action against Iran and a deal with Tehran, telling reporters in the Oval Office, “We blow them up or make a deal.” He added that the confrontation will end “very soon, one way or the other,” according to CBS News, Al Jazeera and the Associated Press. The remarks, widely reported on October 1, came while indirect talks remain unresolved in the seventh month of the war between the United States and Iran. The reports reviewed do not show that Trump announced a decision, ordered a strike or set a deadline, and no new U.S. strike was reported after he spoke.
What Trump Said
Reporters asked Trump how he could negotiate with Iranian officials he has repeatedly described as “crazy.” He replied, “Maybe you blow them up,” CBS News reported. He went on to say that the United States has to decide between the two options and that the time for that decision is approaching. The AP quoted him as saying the war will end “very soon, one way or the other.”
Trump also repeated his claim that the United States has near-total control of the Strait of Hormuz. According to APA, he acknowledged that this could change if Iran laid a mine in the waterway. Outlets described the remarks differently: Al Jazeera called them a threat, while Gulf News called them an ultimatum. CBS News noted that Trump’s plans for Iran remain unclear and that he has said repeatedly in recent weeks that he is weighing whether to escalate the war or reach a deal.
The Context Behind the Statement
The United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28, and the conflict is now in its seventh month, CBS News reported. A memorandum of understanding reached in mid-June fell apart after several weeks. Since June, the United States has blockaded Iranian ports and tightened sanctions, while Iran has attacked shipping around the Strait of Hormuz, according to the AP. U.S. forces also struck Iranian targets near the strait as recently as September 1, CNBC reported.
Last week, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would reopen the strait within a week if the United States lifted its blockade, released frozen Iranian assets and waived sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions. Trump rejected the plan on Saturday, September 26, saying it “would not be acceptable,” the AP reported. Qatari and Pakistani mediators have kept working with both sides.
The New York talks ended without a breakthrough. Axios reported, citing a U.S. official, that Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Araghchi’s delegation to leave on Monday. The AP, citing two U.S. officials, also reported that Rubio ordered the delegation out earlier than planned. Iran’s UN mission rejected that account, saying the departure was scheduled and had been communicated to the State Department on September 17.
Iran’s Response
No Iranian official response specifically to Trump’s “blow them up” remarks appeared in the reporting reviewed as of October 1. Iranian officials did address the wider diplomacy on Wednesday. Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told the state news agency IRNA that Araghchi presented the formal U.S. response to Iran’s proposal to President Masoud Pezeshkian at a cabinet meeting, the AP reported. Pezeshkian said any agreement must be based on a “win-win” approach.
Before Trump spoke, a spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said the only way the war will end is for Washington to admit defeat and withdraw its forces from the region, and Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei said Trump was “trapped in a quagmire,” CBS News reported.
Latest U.S.-Iran Developments
On the military side, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told troops at Quantico that U.S. forces had “destroyed” Iran’s navy, air force and other capabilities, Al Jazeera reported. That is a U.S. claim, not an independently verified finding. The UK Maritime Trade Operations center said unknown projectiles struck three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, according to AFP. The report did not say who was responsible. The reporting reviewed did not describe any new U.S. strike announced after Trump’s remarks.
On the diplomatic side, Reuters reported, via CBS News, that the disagreement between the two sides is over the sequencing of Iran’s seven-day plan. U.S. officials dismissed a letter from the Revolutionary Guard to the American public as propaganda, Gulf News reported. On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned 10 individuals and companies in Iran, Hong Kong and Pakistan accused of helping supply Iran’s military. The AP also reported that Trump has said he expects the war will not end until after the November 3 midterm elections.
What the U.S. Has Confirmed
On the record, the clearest U.S. position is Trump’s own: that force remains an option alongside diplomacy and that a decision is coming. Hegseth’s remarks and the Treasury sanctions are also on the record. The account of Rubio ordering the Iranian delegation out comes from U.S. officials speaking to Axios and the AP, and Iran disputes it. The reporting reviewed contained no separate White House statement clarifying Trump’s remarks and no official announcement of new military action or of a deal.
What Remains Unknown
It remains unclear whether Trump has made a decision, what “blow them up” would involve in practice, or when any decision would come. It also remains unclear what the U.S. response delivered to Iran contains. CBS News, citing Iranian officials and state media, described it as a counterproposal, while the AP said officials did not say whether it was a rejection.
Authorities have not confirmed whether indirect talks will resume or how Iran will formally reply. Trump has said the war will end “very soon,” and, according to the AP, that he expects it to last past the midterms. The reporting reviewed does not reconcile the two statements.
Sources
Publication: Al Jazeera (live blog)
Headline: “Trump threatens he ‘may blow up’ Iran, warns time is coming”
Publication Date: October 1, 2026
URL: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/10/1/iran-war-live-trump-hints-us-could-strike-iran-warns-time-coming
Publication: CBS News (live updates)
Headline: “Live Updates: Iran says it has received U.S. counterproposal to 7-day ceasefire plan rejected by Trump”
Publication Date: September 30, 2026
URL: https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-negotiations-strait-of-hormuz-oil/
Publication: Associated Press (syndicated on Business Standard)
Headline: “Iran receives official US response to latest proposal to end 7-month war”
Publication Date: October 1, 2026
URL: https://www.business-standard.com/amp/world-news/iran-receives-official-us-response-to-latest-proposal-to-end-7-month-war-126100100079_1.html
Publication: Gulf News
Headline: “US-Iran war: ‘We blow them up or make a deal’, Trump says end is ‘very soon’”
Publication Date: October 1, 2026
URL: https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/us-iran-war-we-blow-them-up-or-make-a-deal-trump-says-end-is-very-soon-1.500694334
Publication: Iran International (live blog)
Headline: “Trump says US may ‘blow up’ Iran or make a deal”
Publication Date: October 1, 2026
URL: https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202609269384
Publication: APA
Headline: “Trump on Iran: We blow them up or make a deal”
Publication Date: October 1, 2026
URL: https://en.apa.az/america/trump-on-iran-we-blow-them-up-or-make-a-deal-527430
Publication: Al Jazeera (background)
Headline: “Trump rejects Iran’s seven-day roadmap to end war and reopen Hormuz”
Publication Date: September 26, 2026
URL: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/26/trump-rejects-irans-seven-day-roadmap-to-reopen-strait-of-hormuz
Publication: CNBC (background)
Headline: “U.S. strikes Iran as Tehran retaliates, raising risk of wider war”
Publication Date: September 1, 2026
URL: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/01/us-strikes-iran-after-new-hormuz-strait-shipping-attacks-centcom.html