President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States is expected to begin another round of peace talks with Iran this week. His update arrived one day after he rejected an Iranian proposal intended to end the conflict, which has continued for months.

The announcement represented a slight softening from Saturday, when Trump said his administration had turned down new terms offered by Iranian negotiators. By Sunday, he was again talking publicly about the possibility of an agreement, though clearly not one based on Tehran’s latest terms.

“They want to make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want to make,” Trump told Axios in a phone call Sunday. “It is what we would have maybe agreed to a year ago. They overplayed their hand.”

The possibility of renewed negotiations offers at least a narrow opening in a conflict that has become politically difficult for Republicans. Several Republican candidates running in close races have recently called for the unpopular war to end decisively before voters cast ballots in November.

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner conducted indirect negotiations with Iranian officials during the U.N. General Assembly in New York last week. Despite those discussions, the two governments remain far from reaching a compromise.

Iran has focused on the U.S. naval blockade, which has complicated shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran commandeered the critical waterway at the beginning of the war, while the Trump administration has continued to prioritize concessions involving Tehran’s nuclear program.

Those negotiations unfolded alongside Trump’s speech on the General Assembly floor. During that appearance, the president wondered aloud whether he should “annihilate the Islamic Republic,” hardly the usual diplomatic backdrop for talks supposedly aimed at peace.

Trump has repeatedly suggested that new and potentially productive negotiations could be approaching. He has made such suggestions virtually since the United States and Israel launched strikes on the Middle East nation in February.

Administration officials initially said the operation would last about six weeks. They have also repeatedly said that a resolution was imminent, only for the conflict to intensify again and force extended deployments of U.S. troops.

Earlier this month, Trump offered Republican candidates a less optimistic timeline during the GOP’s midterm gathering in Texas. He said they should not expect the conflict to end before voters go to the polls in November.

“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” Trump told reporters. “I think it’s going to take a little bit longer than the midterm.”

Trump then connected the future of oil prices to the outcome of the conflict. He said prices would fall “as soon as we win the war with Iran,” indicating that a permanent ceasefire or treaty remains months away.

High oil prices are among the GOP’s biggest weaknesses during this election cycle, according to the source report. For Republican candidates facing competitive races, Trump’s suggested timeline leaves the political consequences hanging over the final stretch before November.

Some of those candidates have chosen not to wait for Trump’s months away scenario. Rogers delivered the message directly in an advertisement filmed inside a grocery store: “The war in Iran needs to end, and end quickly.”

Hinson and Rogers are both running in close contests. Hinson is competing against state Rep. Josh Turek, while Rogers is facing public health official Abdul El-Sayed, with high prices for daily necessities expected to be a major concern for voters in both states.

Axios did not report an exact date from Trump for when negotiations could resume this week. The president also made clear that renewed U.S. strikes against Iran remain under consideration, leaving military escalation on the table even as he promoted another round of diplomacy.

Asked about the possibility of resumed strikes, Trump told Axios, “I am always thinking about it.” That answer left the administration publicly balancing another promised attempt at negotiations with the continuing threat of more military action.