The Wall Street Journal reports that President Donald Trump is leaning toward resuming military action against Iran, but has not made a final decision. The report cites unnamed US officials. They describe options that range from strikes on nuclear facilities and infrastructure to operations against Iranian islands, according to Ynet’s account of the report.
The report puts the question of timing at the centre of the story. Trump said on October 8 that the United States would not attack Iran at any time before the November 3 midterm elections, citing “productive discussions” with Tehran, Reuters reported. The United States and Israel are meanwhile drawing up plans to resume attacks after the election, sources told ABC News. Israeli sources said any strikes would almost certainly come after the US midterms, citing Trump’s reluctance to further destabilize oil markets in the final days of the campaign. Eastern Herald separately reported that Trump’s endorsement of Netanyahu did not explain how his remark that the United States would “do this work” fits his Iran pledge.
Some US officials argue against the option. According to the report, they say a new round of strikes would only push energy prices higher. Eastern Herald has reported that Qatar warns the war’s energy shock has yet to peak, and that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the price surge an energy supply shock and said gas prices by the new year “will depend on what happens with the Iran conflict.”
Tehran has pushed back. Armed Forces Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi said on Friday that Iran will not allow US military vessels to enter the Persian Gulf “under any circumstances,” according to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency, Indian Express reported. Iran’s ambassador to Islamabad said on Saturday that Tehran remains open to talks with the United States under the interim deal Pakistan brokered in June, CBS News reported.
Gulf states have their own stake: foreign ministers meeting in Manama held Iran responsible for attacks on member states while demanding a Gulf seat in any US-Iran talks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Iran is preparing to destroy Israel. He spoke three days before Israel’s own election, Ynet reported.
The war began on February 28, when the United States and Israel started striking Iran. In mid-June, Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum aimed at ending hostilities, but the two sides exchanged strikes again soon afterward. The conflict remains unresolved.
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