‘Nobody deserves it more’: Trump makes fresh Nobel Peace Prize bid as US weighs Iran strikes

Washington: US President Donald Trump has made another public pitch for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, saying he believes he deserves the prestigious award even as his administration is reportedly preparing military options for possible renewed strikes against Iran.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump pointed to the approaching announcement of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate and suggested that his diplomatic efforts make him a deserving candidate.

“It is about that time,” Trump said. He recalled that last year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate had praised him and suggested that he deserved the award more than anyone in history.

Trump also claimed that he had resolved eight conflicts since returning to office for his second term.

“I’ve done stuff that nobody else has ever done. I’m not bragging, I’m just telling you the facts. No president has probably ever settled any wars. I settled eight wars,” he said.
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The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize is scheduled to be announced on Friday.

“The committee has a reputation for maybe not giving it to people like me,” Trump said, adding that it would be a “great discredit” to the committee if he did not receive the prize despite what he described as his diplomatic achievements.

The Nobel pitch comes against the backdrop of heightened tensions with Iran. According to a report by Axios, the Pentagon has instructed US Central Command to complete preparations for a possible resumption of major combat operations against Iran, although Trump has not made a final decision and no date has been set for any strikes.

US and Israeli officials told Axios that renewed operations could take place before the US midterm elections on November 3, although the report said the chances of such action before the elections were not high. Any major operation could involve strikes on Iranian energy, infrastructure and nuclear targets.

A Pentagon official said the department's role was to develop and present military options to the President, while a White House official said Trump had “all options available at any time”.

Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have reportedly made little progress, with Qatari mediators still awaiting an Iranian response to a US counterproposal that included demands for nuclear concessions.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke on Wednesday, their second call in a few days. The conversation came after Netanyahu held discussions with his national security team on Iran, according to the Axios report.

Trump has meanwhile continued to claim that the US has severely weakened Iran's military and taken away its nuclear capability.

“Their whole country right now is wiped out. It will be over very quickly, and when it does, oil prices will come tumbling down,” Trump told reporters while leaving Washington for a Republican campaign rally in San Antonio.
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Trump targets Obama’s Nobel win

Trump also criticised former US President Barack Obama for receiving the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

“Obama got it, and he didn’t do anything,” Trump said, questioning why Obama had been awarded the prize so early in his presidency.

Trump also referred to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who received the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. He claimed that Machado had given him her Nobel medal during a meeting at the White House and said that he deserved the award instead.

“Last time they gave it to a young lady who’s a fabulous person, and she said she didn’t deserve it, that I deserved it, and she gave it to me,” Trump said.

Trump and members of his administration have repeatedly highlighted his trade measures and economic pressure as factors that they say encouraged countries involved in conflicts to pursue diplomacy.

However, the scope of some of the President’s claims has been disputed. Fighting has continued or resumed in some areas, including parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo and along the contested Cambodia-Thailand border.

Trump has also repeatedly said his administration would bring an end to the war in Ukraine, but a lasting peace agreement has yet to be reached.

The situation in the Middle East also remains volatile, with continuing hostilities involving Iran following US and Israeli military strikes.

The Iran situation has also become a key backdrop to Trump's latest Nobel pitch. On Tuesday, he reiterated his claims about US control over maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, describing the US naval presence there as a “wall of steel”.

Trump claimed that vessels attempting to move through the waterway were being stopped and said the US would remain the world's leading naval power.

“In other words, the Hormuz Strait belongs to the United States Navy and the United States of America,” Trump said.

He also claimed that Iran's military had been severely weakened and suggested that the conflict could be brought to an end through either a diplomatic or military route.

“We have to finish up. And it's only a question of which way do we want to do it, the nice way or the not-so-nice way? And pretty soon you'll find out,” Trump said.

The Nobel Peace Prize is independently decided by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo. Among other names and institutions mentioned as potential contenders for the 2026 prize are Pope Leo, the International Criminal Court and the United Nations special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories.

(With ANI inputs)