Summary

Panicking Trump aides trying to pause unpopular Iran war to save GOP from midterm election disaster: report Top aides to President Donald Trump are pushing to keep the Iran war from escalating before November's midterm elections Senior advisers to President Donald Trump are attempting to prevent the military conflict with Iran from worsening ahead of November's midterm elections to curb potential Republican losses at the polls, according to four individuals knowledgeable about the discussions. However, this strategy is already facing severe pressure as exchange strikes between the United States and Iran persist. White House figures are considering an increase in military operations following the November 3 vote, the sources said, who asked not to be named when describing internal considerations, though a full resumption of major warfare remains far from certain. For now, insiders said the administration is focusing on intensifying economic pressure on Tehran, hoping to secure concessions in eventual diplomacy that months of direct armed action failed to produce. "We are keeping the pressure on Iran," one White House official said. "But November is a priority." Containing the scope of the fighting until the elections could prevent the deeply unpopular campaign from dominating headlines while Trump's Republican Party attempts to maintain narrow majorities across the Senate and House of Representatives, explained the sources, three of whom serve as White House officials. Public enthusiasm for the engagement is low, with a late August Reuters/Ipsos survey revealing only 31% of Americans back the war compared to 63% who oppose it. High fuel prices have added to voter discontent. A temporary reduction in fighting would also give the U.S. armed forces crucial time to restock severely drained ammunition stockpiles, sources noted. Adopting a calmer posture is proving increasingly challenging by the day. Although current hostilities are much less intense than the heavy fighting seen in the spring or during a flare-up in midsummer, both nations have engaged in fresh tit-for-tat strikes in recent days. Analysts suggest Iranian leadership, emboldened after months of interfering with maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and facing little domestic opposition, will likely maintain sporadic strikes against U.S. and regional Gulf assets, including bases, vessels, and energy infrastructure. Such actions will place intense pressure on Washington to respond, potentially sparking an escalatory spiral that drags both countries back into an open air war regardless of administrative intentions. Following a month of relative quiet, U.S. forces targeted rocket launchers on Iran's Larak Island over the weekend, prompting retaliatory missile launches from Iran aimed at Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. On Tuesday, American strikes targeted additional Iranian assets surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. "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," said Barbara Leaf, who served as the top State Department official for the Middle East under former President Joe Biden. Trump's personal volatility presents another unpredictable element. Since the outbreak of hostilities, the president's approval rating has dropped from 40% to 33%, Reuters/Ipsos polling indicates. While sources say he is not currently interested in escalating the conflict, he is famously prone to changing his mind and could shift course as events develop. On Tuesday, Trump threatened to escalate the conflict if Tehran responds to the recent American bombardment. "If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings," he wrote on his Truth Social platform. CONSTRAINED BY LOGISTICS AND POLITICS While Trump has publicly denied that the upcoming elections factor into his Iran strategy, his White House finds itself increasingly constrained by logistical and political realities as the war enters its seventh month. "The timetable has changed," one senior White House official said. Another added that the "calendar is driving Iran." Reuters reports in August highlighted that military stockpiles of specific precision missiles were "virtually all" consumed. On Sunday, the Washington Post reported that service leaders from the Army, Navy and Air Force cautioned Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth in a written assessment that continuing the war was unsustainable and would diminish military readiness across other global theaters. However, the Pentagon maintained that the military had "everything it needs to execute" its mission. "President Trump has destroyed Iran’s military capabilities and is crippling what’s left of its abysmal economy with the most powerful naval blockade in world history and crushing sanctions," White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said. "The President will continue to advance America’s interests at home and abroad and will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon." Regional diplomats noted that key U.S. allies in the Gulf—some of whom had pushed for aggressive action against Tehran earlier in the war to weaken their primary regional adversary—strongly urged Washington to deescalate following a recent round of attacks in late July. According to two White House officials, high-ranking advisers including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio currently support efforts to keep the Iran conflict relatively "quiet" until November. In recent weeks, administration officials have instead intensified an economic isolation campaign. This strategy involves threatening severe sanctions against nations that trade with Iran while maintaining the American naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. Yet, experts and officials acknowledge that the trade-focused strategy has its own limits. Iran has spent decades under layers of U.S. and international sanctions that have crippled its economy without deterring its leadership. On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged that the pressure campaign may cause Iran to lash out militarily, raising the prospect that the economic campaign could itself stoke military escalation. Furthermore, major global powers like China have refused to join Washington's bid to isolate Tehran, prompting questions regarding the campaign's ultimate effectiveness. "The purpose of the new sanctions package is meant to add economic pressure on top of that being caused by the blockade to force Iran back to the table, after the administration determined it was a better option than returning to kinetic action," said Alex Plitsas, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. "Iran is concerned about it, but China has already indicated that it's not willing to play ball, which calls into question how effective it will be." Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments