DOMINANT ANGLE
The United States is conditioning its response to the electoral calendar: the US government has itself predicted that no agreement with Iran will be found before the November midterm elections, when Tehran is pressing for a rapid outcome.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
According to CBS News, Donald Trump stated at the UN that he had a "big decision to make" between concluding an agreement with Iran or "annihilating" the country, and predicted that no agreement would be reached before the November midterm elections.
- 02
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian asserted on Face the Nation that Tehran would respect its commitments if Washington accepted the plan within seven days, even allowing nuclear inspectors.
- 03
CNBC reports that transits through the Strait of Ormuz have fallen to nine ships, well below the pre-war level, while Saudi Arabia has increased its exports to 6 million barrels per day in September, up nearly 80% from August.
ANALYSIS
The United States, September 26, 2026. At the United Nations podium, Donald Trump summarized the week from the American side: a "big decision to make" — conclude an agreement with Iran or "annihilate" the country — without publicly deciding between the two options. According to CBS News, the president himself predicted that no agreement would be sealed before the November midterm elections, a deadline that Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian is invoking to pressure Washington to respond to the seven-day plan presented this week by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The text, which provides for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the lifting of the naval blockade, oil sanctions, and a ceasefire extended to Lebanon, has so far received no official response from the White House, notes CBS. American officials have held indirect discussions with Tehran through mediators, but Trump himself has not spoken with the Iranian delegation in New York, despite initially showing an openness to a meeting.
Questioned on Friday on "Face the Nation," Pezeshkian mentioned a "climate of mistrust" and recalled previous instances where the United States has struck Iran during negotiations, while assuring that Tehran would respect its commitments if Washington accepted the proposal, even to the point of allowing nuclear inspectors.
On the economic front, the American press is mainly measuring the effect of the prospect of an agreement on the markets: Bloomberg notes a decline in oil prices following the announcement of step-by-step negotiations, while CNBC highlights that transits through the strait have fallen to nine ships, well below the pre-war level, as Saudi Arabia has increased its exports to 6 million barrels per day in September, an increase of nearly 80% compared to August thanks to the bypassing of Hormuz. CNBC also reports Houthi missile strikes against Saudi targets on Friday and a planned meeting of Saudi, Turkish, and Pakistani chiefs of staff.
For American coverage, the central question remains less the detail of the plan than the calendar: Trump is stalling, Pezeshkian is pressing, and the fate of the Strait of Hormuz appears to be suspended between Washington's electoral agenda and the negotiations themselves.
