Trump says ‘not looking to kill lots of people’ in Iran after midterms

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, United States, on October 2, 2026. [Kyle Mazza – Anadolu Agency]

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is “not looking to kill lots of people” in Iran following the midterm elections, while warning that Washington would take decisive action if necessary, Anadolu reports.

“Look, I’m not looking to, you know, kill lots of people, but if we have to, we’ll have to,” Trump told Fox News amid reports that US was weighing strikes on Iran following the polling.

Trump said American forces struck a newly completed Iranian anti-aircraft installation overnight after monitoring its construction for over two months. “Just a minor attack. It wasn’t war.”

READ: Iran delivers ‘firm, rational’ response to US, says ‘ball in America’s court to prevent war’

Citing a US official, local media reported that the US military carried out “defensive” strikes against Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday.

The US president argued that the confrontation with Iran differs from traditional wars such as the Russia-Ukraine war or World War II, asserting that Washington holds total leverage over Tehran after crippling its naval and air assets during the ongoing Iran war.

“We have them totally where we want. We could finish them off, or we could be nice and let thousands of people live that would get killed in a war,” he said.

READ: Trump could launch nuclear strike on Iran within days, commentator claims

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