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Trump aides, fearing midterm losses, seek to keep Iran war contained

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Unnamed sources Ongoing story
  • Trump administration officials are seeking to contain the conflict with Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, according to four people familiar with internal discussions.
  • The administration is focusing for now on increasing economic pressure on Iran, while officials may consider broader military action after the election.
  • The strategy faces pressure as Iran and the United States continue exchanging strikes, and a Reuters/Ipsos poll found 31% of Americans approved of the war while 63% disapproved.

The White House wants the Iran war kept quiet until after the November midterm elections. Four people familiar with internal discussions said senior aides fear the unpopular conflict could deepen Republican losses as the party tries to protect narrow majorities in Congress.

For now, the administration is concentrating on economic pressure, hoping to win concessions from Iran that months of military action failed to secure. “We are keeping the pressure on Iran,” one White House official said. “But November is a priority.” Officials could consider expanding military action after the November 3 vote, although the sources said a return to full-scale war is far from certain.

A temporary pause would also give the US military time to replenish heavily depleted munitions stocks. But keeping the conflict contained is becoming harder. Although fighting remains less intense than during the spring or a flare-up in midsummer, the United States and Iran have exchanged tit-for-tat strikes in recent days.

We are keeping the pressure on Iran. But November is a priority.

— White House officialThe official described the administration’s effort to maintain pressure on Iran while limiting escalation before the midterm elections.

Iran is expected to continue attacking US and allied Gulf targets, including bases, vessels and energy infrastructure, analysts said. The United States could then face pressure to retaliate, creating an escalation spiral that returns both sides to a full-scale air war. Over the weekend, US forces struck rocket launchers on Iran’s Larak Island after a month of relative calm. Iran responded by firing missiles toward Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, and the United States struck additional Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.

Barbara Leaf, a former senior US official, said Iran had strong reasons to disrupt what she called a false calm because Washington was openly seeking to intensify economic pressure. A late-August Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that 63% of Americans disapproved of the war, with voters especially unhappy about high gasoline prices.

The regime has every incentive to disrupt the 'calm' - which is no real calm, after all, since the administration's explicit aim is to increase economic pressure massively on Iran.

— Barbara LeafLeaf argued that Iran had reasons to continue attacking despite the period of reduced fighting.
About this summary

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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