Washington: US officials have warned several Middle Eastern governments and regional partners to get ready for possible new military action against Iran after next week’s American midterm elections. They have also been told to prepare for the chance that Iran could retaliate against them, according to two diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Associated Press reported.
President Donald Trump has yet to determine whether fresh attacks on Iran should proceed, the diplomats emphasized. Still, he has repeatedly signaled that he is considering fresh military action after the pivotal November 3 vote in the United States.
Those warnings, coupled with new American appeals for partners to ready themselves for possible retaliation, have left the region bracing for the possibility that large-scale combat could resume.
The White House and other US officials would not comment.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X on Wednesday that Tehran “continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed” and is working with mediators to review ideas included in a proposal floated last month. Trump rejected the proposal, but Iran still wants it used as the basis to return to a ceasefire.
The United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry separately called on both sides to “exercise wisdom and pursue political solutions to help contain tensions” and avert a renewed descent into full-scale warfare in the conflict that erupted in late February.
Region Braces For Spillover
Washington has informed regional partners that any new phase of operations might stretch across several days. Local officials, however, expect Iran and its allied militias to answer with attacks of their own—raising the prospect of a confrontation that could endure far longer, the diplomats said.
US officials have also pressed allies to put safeguards in place, anticipating that Iran’s response could target energy installations and other vital infrastructure.
It remains uncertain how rapidly the American military could be positioned to renew strikes.
No US attack on Iran has occurred since early September, but the security landscape across West Asia has grown increasingly complicated.
The fighting has widened: Iran-aligned Houthi forces have struck Saudi oil facilities and airports, while a Saudi-led coalition has carried out lethal assaults on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Gulf governments had been briefed to ready themselves for a potential American escalation.
Forces And Political Pressure
How soon after Election Day US forces could resume operations is unclear.
Late last month, the Pentagon sent the USS Theodore Roosevelt and amphibious ships carrying about 9,000 Marines from San Diego to the Persian Gulf to strengthen US forces in the region.
One official said the deployment could create an unusually large naval presence, with more than 20,000 sailors and Marines and hundreds of aircraft. In April, the Navy had three carrier strike groups in the Middle East for the first time since 2003.
Trump has spent recent weeks campaigning for Republicans ahead of the November 3 elections but has not said what he plans to do next on Iran.
The war has hurt Republican candidates, as voters are frustrated by higher gasoline prices and rising costs. The Pentagon told Congress the war has cost US taxpayers $47.1 billion.
Trump has told voters the war is close to ending, while also warning that more bombing could follow the election.
At a rally in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday, Trump said the eight-month war could end “in a couple of weeks, if you don’t mind.”
“Somebody asked me before, when will the war in Iran end?” Trump said earlier in the same address. “I said, ‘Whenever I want it to end.’ It’ll be very quick, but we have to have it end properly, with total and complete — a total statement, they will never have a nuclear weapon.”
Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said Iran may act before the election if it believes a US strike is coming.
“Why would they wait until after the elections here … if they could initiate it and potentially gain the upper hand?” he said.
