Iranupdated 51m ago2 min read
Ali Motahari Says U.S. And Israel Won’t Strike Iran Before November 12 Elections
5outlets comparedA wider view of the story
3 West Asian2 OtherThis article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Iran fears full-scale war as US midterms and Israeli elections approach. US hints at short, intense post-election strikes against Iran; costs exceed $47 billion.
5 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on Hezbollah Rebuilds Defensive Capabilities, Lebanese Security Sources Say →
Election timing and siege
Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said in an interview with Drop Site that “Iran will be harmed by a long siege; anyone who says otherwise is not realistic.” Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of the tenth Parliament, told the News Agency Khabaronline that “If our people are to be under economic pressure due to a naval blockade, naturally the people of the region must share in this.” Motahari argued that the United States and Israel “especially before the elections, will not strike Iran,” and he tied that view to the Israeli election being “in two days.” Motahari also said Trump is “very keen to reach an agreement with Iran before the elections so he can use it as a card in the elections,” and he added that this gives Iran “about ten days of opportunity to press its terms on the American side and extract concessions.”
“Iran will be harmed by a long siege; anyone who says otherwise is not realistic.”
Cost and planning after polls
The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States told Gulf countries to be prepared for “short, but intense, strikes against Iran after these elections,” according to يورونیوز. The Pentagon assessment cited by يورونیوز put the cost of war with Iran at more than $47 billion. يورونیوز said the U.S. military was moving a Patriot system from Texas to the region to strengthen missile defense, and it said the U.S. had withdrawn forces from bases vulnerable if fighting escalates. The report also said a carrier strike group and a Marine expeditionary unit were to join a fleet of about 20 warships in the Middle East, and it added that Iran’s nuclear facilities and related infrastructure were among potential targets.
Tehran’s warnings and red lines
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei insisted on Tehran’s conditions for ending the war, keeping open the possibility of escalation, according to التلفزيون العربي. Marwan Qalan, director of the political studies unit at the Arab Center for Research, said the next phase after the Israeli elections will be “extremely dangerous,” and he described Prime Minister Netanyahu as clinging to power “even if that requires manufacturing crises and military escalation.” Rob Arlett, former director of Trump’s Delaware campaign, told Al Arabi Television that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s visit to Israel came as part of laying out plans for a possible change in Israeli leadership, and he stressed two red lines: preventing Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon and ensuring Hormuz Strait security. Arlett also said Trump’s ceasefire approach was “nothing but a waste of time,” and he described Iran’s policy as delaying “until the U.S. elections.”