President Donald Trump is considering launching a new round of strikes against Iran before next month’s midterm elections, with the White House reportedly seeking options that could hand the president a much-needed “win” before voters head to the polls.
The White House has directed the Pentagon to draft potential attacks on Iranian targets that could be carried out before Election Day, The Atlantic’s Nancy A. Youssef and Jonathan Lemire reported Wednesday, citing two administration officials.
No final decision has been made, and officials are still discussing the scope and possible targets. U.S. Central Command is developing the options, according to the report.
The deliberations come after several weeks without U.S. strikes on Iran and as the deeply unpopular conflict — along with the spike in gas prices it has fueled — weighs heavily on Republicans fighting to retain control of Congress.
In brand-new leaked audio, Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton called the war and the resulting affordability challenges his campaign’s “biggest problem.”
Proponents of renewed military action, though, believe a limited operation could give the GOP a boost in the final stretch of the campaign season.
“It would make the president look like he got a win and that gas prices would start going down,” one Republican familiar with the discussions in question told The Atlantic.
But even supporters of the proposal reportedly admit that it would not immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz, force Tehran into negotiations, or bring down gas prices by Election Day.
As Youssef and Lemire noted, Trump continues to raise the prospect of renewed military action himself, telling Time recently that “we’ve been stocking up for the last six months.” In his address last month to the United Nations General Assembly, he said he had a “big decision” to make on whether or not to “annihilate” Iran.
However, Trump’s advisers reportedly favor waiting until after the midterms to resume strikes, warning that another escalation — particularly one resulting in additional American casualties — could thrust the unpopular war back into the spotlight at the worst possible moment for Republicans.
Still, one White House official told The Atlantic that Trump “has all options available at any time.”
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