The New York Times, on Iran, 31 October 2026

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Iran Braces for More War, No Matter the Outcome of the U.S. and Israeli Elections

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Iran Braces for More War, No Matter the Outcome of the U.S. and Israeli Elections

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is jockeying to stay in power, and President Trump is in a tough midterm fight, yet Iran’s leaders do not expect a major shift in Israeli or U.S. policy.

Little is clear about the power dynamics that will govern Israel and the United States in the coming months after pivotal elections in both countries. But Iran’s leaders are watching the contests closely, analysts said, and bracing for a renewed round of conflict whatever the outcome.

In Israel, this week’s national elections showed that neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right alliance nor the main opposition bloc, led by Gadi Eisenkot, the country’s former top military official, won enough votes to form a government. That has set the stage for weeks of uncertainty.

In the United States, Democrats appear to be in a strong position to at least take control of the House in the midterm elections next week. But the exact size of their win, and whether they secure a majority in the Senate, will determine if they can actually put a brake on President Trump’s policies, including the war with Iran.

Tehran expects more attacks whoever takes control in Israel or of Congress, and .

“They have been expecting a new round of war already for a few weeks, and they’ve been preparing accordingly,” Hamidreza Azizi, senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, said of the Iranian government.

In Israel, Iran would welcome the removal of Mr. Netanyahu from power, said Mohammad Saleh Sedghian, director of the Arab Center for Iranian Studies in Tehran. The Israeli leader helped persuade Mr. Trump to attack Iran this year and sought to orchestrate new airstrikes on Iran ahead of the election. But Iranian leaders believe that changing prime ministers would probably have an impact only in the short term rather than leading to a fundamental shift in Israeli policy, Mr. Sedghian said.

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What we found (1)

The New York Times reports that Iran expects more US and Israeli attacks whatever the outcome of the Israeli and US elections, and attributes most of its reading to named analysts. It names Netanyahu and Trump as the leaders behind the attack on Iran. One sentence casts Iran as the party blocking a peace deal in the outlet's own voice and gives only the US side's demands.

  1. One side gets the space

    Minor

    “has shown little willingness to make concessions demanded by the Trump administration to seal a peace deal”

    Why this matters
    In its own voice the Times says Tehran "has shown little willingness to make concessions" and names only the Trump administration's demands as the terms of a peace deal.
    The impression it gives
    A reader comes away believing Iran alone is holding up peace, refusing reasonable terms, while the US side has made no demands that could be refused.
    The context
    Other reporting on the same week says Iran has its own demands, including reparations for the war the US and Israel launched. The Times never says what Iran is asking for, so only one side's terms appear.

    How we know

    Show it in the article

What it gets right

  • “Trump to attack Iran this year and sought to orchestrate new airstrikes on Iran ahead of the election”

    The Times names who attacked Iran and who was planning new strikes, in the active voice, rather than describing the war as something that simply broke out.

  • “Hamidreza Azizi, senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, said of the Iranian government”

    The claim about what Iran's government expects is attributed to a named analyst, and the government is named as the government, not as the Iranian people or a "regime".

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