Report: Trump weighs new strikes on Iran even before midterm elections

The White House has directed the Pentagon to prepare options for possible new military strikes against Iran that could be carried out before the November midterm elections, The Atlantic reported Wednesday, citing two administration officials. According to the report, the request comes as President Donald Trump seeks to demonstrate progress in the conflict with Iran and bring down gas prices ahead of the vote. No final decision has been made on whether to launch an operation, and administration officials are still discussing the potential scope and targets. US Central Command, which is overseeing the American war effort, has been tasked with developing the military options, a US official told The Atlantic . Supporters of the proposal acknowledge that limited strikes alone would be unlikely to force Iran back to negotiations, reopen the Strait of Hormuz to safe passage or produce lower gasoline prices before Election Day. However, proponents reportedly believe renewed military action following months of uneasy peace could allow Trump to project strength and potentially claim a victory before voters head to the polls, providing Republicans with momentum ahead of the elections. “It would make the president look like he got a win and that gas prices would start going down," a Republican familiar with the deliberations told The Atlantic . According to the report, a limited operation before the midterms could be followed by a larger military campaign afterward. Trump has repeatedly raised the possibility that the conflict, now in its eighth month, could intensify following the elections. Addressing the United Nations last month, Trump threatened to “annihilate the Islamic Republic" unless Tehran agreed to a deal. He again raised the possibility of post-election military action in an interview with Time magazine published earlier this month, saying “we’ve been stocking up for the last six months." Last week, Trump predicted that the United States would win the war “right after the election," while leaving open the possibility of an earlier outcome, adding, “Maybe before the election." The report comes as the Trump administration continues to demand concrete concessions from Iran over its nuclear program. Vice President JD Vance told Reuters this week that Tehran would have to meaningfully reduce its nuclear enrichment capabilities before Washington would agree to end the war. Vance said the administration would not accept promises of future reductions as a substitute for an actual decrease in Iran's enrichment capacity. "If you don't want a nuclear weapon, then why do you need 60% enriched fuel? And if you want to show commitment to not building a nuclear ⁠weapon, don't build highly enriched fuel. That's a very basic threshold issue," Vance said. "I think if they want to show a commitment to not building a nuclear weapon, they would do something meaningful on their enrichment capacity." Washington and Tehran have exchanged proposals in recent weeks aimed at ending the fighting and restoring shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global energy supplies. Trump rejected Iran's latest proposal, although Tehran subsequently maintained that it had received a response from Washington.