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Iran09 October, 20262 min read

Donald Trump Says U.S. Will Not Attack Iran Before November 3 Midterm Elections

This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.

Trump says no Iran attack before midterms; calls talks with Tehran productive. Pentagon orders CENTCOM to ready possible major Iran strikes; no date set.

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Trump delays strikes

United States President Donald Trump said the United States would not attack Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, while he described ongoing talks with Tehran as “productive discussions.” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “We will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd,” and he added that the U.S. blockade would remain “in full force and effect.”

“Iran is escalating attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, dramatically reducing the amount of oil moving through.”
The Washington Post

US media outlets have said the Pentagon drew up plans to relaunch attacks before the vote, even as Trump said he would not order strikes before November 3. Iran escalated attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, hitting at least nine vessels last week, while oil shipments dropped steeply as the midterms approached.

Reporting for this section@globaltimesnewsThe Washington Post

Hormuz pressure and plans

Nearly 16 million barrels of crude moved through the waterway last Friday, but by Monday the amounts had fallen to half that, and no diesel, gasoline or other finished fuels is known to have made it through on Monday.

Kpler recorded 10 tankers struck inside the strait during the week ending Sunday, and it quoted the report saying “That is the most in any week this year, against a previous weekly high of 6.”

US publications including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported claims by unnamed officials that the Pentagon had drawn up plans to attack Iran before the midterms.

The New York Times reported on October 8 that the U.S. military recently prepared a three-day strike option against Iran, and Axios reported that the Pentagon on October 7 ordered U.S. Central Command to complete preparations for resuming large-scale combat.

Reporting for this sectionThe Washington PostAl Jazeera

What is at stake

President Donald Trump has accused Iran of attacking shipping to influence the Nov. 3 midterms, with the Republican Party facing pressure over high oil prices.

“We currently have, within our production system, the necessary production capacity to wage a continuous and long war.”
Iran International

Striking Iran ahead of the midterm elections would be risky for the administration because the war remains deeply unpopular with Americans, and it cited a Pew Research Center poll released on Thursday that found about 65 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Trump has handled the Iran war overall.

Trump promised Thursday the U.S. would not attack Iran before the midterm elections, tempering rising crude oil prices, and it also described Houthis claiming a ballistic missile attack on Saudi Arabia’s main airport.

Iran’s Defense Ministry spokesperson Reza Talaei-Nik told state television, “We currently have, within our production system, the necessary production capacity to wage a continuous and long war,” as the IRGC commander Ahmad Vahidi warned the United States and other powers outside the region have no right to intervene in the Hormuz Strait.

Reporting for this sectionAl JazeeraIran International