Trump plans to resume strikes on Iran day after midterm elections

The Trump administration is preparing for a brief, forceful new round of strikes on Iran that could begin November 4, the day after the midterm elections, according to three senior Gulf Arab officials who spoke to MS NOW on condition of anonymity. Gulf governments, anxious about Iranian retaliation, are lobbying against escalation, and one official said some might resist letting the U.S. launch attacks from bases on their soil. American forces have not hit Iran since September 1.

President Donald Trump has promised nothing will happen before voters go to the polls. He told a Kansas City radio station the war will end soon, and named Pickaxe Mountain, a buried site tied to Iran's nuclear work, as a possible target. Two former administration officials say he believes one last attack could produce a deal or finish off the nuclear program. Pew Research Center polling puts disapproval of his handling of the conflict at 65 percent, and Republicans are souring too.

Diplomacy continues alongside the buildup. Vice President JD Vance wrote to Gen. Mohsen Rezaei proposing renewed talks, Qatari mediators were in Tehran, and the USS Theodore Roosevelt group is due in the region at the end of November.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →