Will Trump strike nuclear sites again as Iran engages ‘cognitive warfare’?

The US president has been sending mixed messages after saying the war on Iran was partly to blame for the Republican defeat at the midterms. Since Tuesday’s midterms, United States President Donald Trump has shifted his rhetoric between threatening Iran and suggesting that a resolution to the war is near.

On Friday, US forces carried out what he described as “minor strikes” against Iranian air defence systems, and Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, reported two missiles had again struck Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. But on the same day, Trump said the US administration is talking to Iranian representatives and told reporters, “We’ve made a lot of progress with Iran.” So besides the mixed messages from him, what is happening on the ground and what is most likely to happen next?

Here is what we know: “We’re dealing with them now. They want to make a deal,” the US president told reporters, without providing further details.