Trump says US not in 'a hurry' to agree deal with Iran
The president has said the U.S. will not resume strikes before the midterms.
Talks between the U.S. and Iran remain stalled despite the two countries signing a memorandum of understanding in June, aimed at ending the war that began with joint American-Israeli strikes on the country in February. The opening strikes killed a host of top Iranian officials and commanders, among them Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The two sides have continued to exchange strikes, though have not returned to the intense fighting seen in the early stages of the conflict. The U.S. says it is enforcing a naval blockade of the country's Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman ports, while Iran claims control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz and continues to claim attacks on shipping transiting the waterway.
Meanwhile, intensified fighting between Saudi-backed Yemeni forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen has seen the latter repeatedly attack Saudi military, oil infrastructure and transport facilities.
See the most recent developments below.
Key Headlines
Trump indicates US reached out to Iran over potential humanitarian aid
President Donald Trump appeared to confirm on Wednesday that Vice President JD Vance has reached out to members of the Iranian regime after the Wall Street Journal reported that the vice president had sent a letter to Iranian hardliner Mohsen Rezaei at Trump's behest.
Trump denied that he had directed Vance to reach out on the subject of peace negotiations, and instead implied that the U.S. was working to get humanitarian aid into Iran.
"No, what that is, is we -- they need help with medical supplies and various things. He asked me what I thought. I said, if you want to do that, that's OK," Trump said in response to a question on whether he directed Vance to reach out to Iran to restart peace negotiations.
"Basically, it's getting supplies in to help people that are not well," he added.
Trump made the comments on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews while en route to Ohio for a campaign rally.
The Journal reported that the letter was sent with the intention of "testing whether Tehran and Washington could find enough common ground to persuade Trump not to give a final order for a short, intense attack on Iran in the coming weeks."
ABC News has not corroborated the WSJ report. The White House and the vice president's office did not respond to requests for comment.
-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr
US military estimates war with Iran now costs $47.1 billion
The U.S. military now estimates that through mid-October, the war with Iran has cost $47 billion dollars, according to a Pentagon document reviewed by ABC News.
The new figure is a $3.5 billion increase from an earlier estimate of $43.6 billion through mid-September that was also compiled by Pentagon. In mid-July, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had told Congress that the war had cost $37.5 billion through that time period.
Close to $29 billion worth of munitions have been expended by the U.S. since the start of the war, according to the document.
The costs of operations is estimated to total $11.9 billion, according to the document.
The document does not contain a cost estimate for the damage that Iranian attacks have caused at large U.S. military bases in the region, but it does say that equipment losses, including U.S. military aircraft, totals $6 billion.
The Trump administration does not include the cost of replacing the damage to the bases because it has yet to determine whether those bases will need to be rebuilt.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez
Trump says war will end when 'I want to end it'
President Donald Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Tuesday night that "anything's possible" when asked if the U.S. would resume strikes on Iran, suggesting that the conflict will end when he decides.
"I think with Iran, we're in a very good position. It's a question: When do I want to end it? Simply a question of when do I want to end it," the president said.
Trump again claimed that Iran wants to make a deal, but suggested that Tehran may be waiting for a more favorable environment before they try to do so.
"They want to make a deal, but they've wanted to make a deal, but they like tapping it along. Maybe they're waiting for the election or something, but that's not going to help them," he said.
-ABC News' Alex Ederson
Iran's supreme leader details recent meetings
The official Telegram page for Mojtaba Khamenei has released details of two meetings Iran's supreme leader has reportedly held in recent days.
According to the readout, he met with the head of Iran's judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, on Saturday, during which the two reportedly discussed pursuing compensation from the U.S. and Israel over damages from the war in Iran. That follows a meeting last week with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker, during which the two reportedly discussed the latest developments in the war, according to the readout.
Khamenei has not been seen in public since he succeeded his late father in March.