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Sina Toossi, a senior non-resident fellow at the Center for International Policy, said Tehran is looking to increase the political cost of the war for Trump by trying to talk directly to the American public.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily that they\u2019re trying to get Democrats in power or manipulate US politics in a certain direction, other than just overall increasing the costs on this issue of the Iran war, and just playing that game of information warfare and getting out their own narrative and propaganda as well,\u201d Toossi told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s Republican Party is looking to retain control of the Senate and House of Representatives in next month\u2019s midterm vote. But the Democratic Party, which largely opposes the war with Iran, is mounting a strong challenge across the congressional electoral map, including in areas that have been conservative strongholds for decades, such as Texas<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Ghalibaf shared a news story on inflation rising<\/a> to 3.7 percent last month along with a collage of negative headlines on the US economy.<\/p>\n The social media post also featured a comic strip from the Road Runner cartoon showing Wile E Coyote building a catapult that misfires and launches a boulder at him.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s \u2018play the percentages\u2019. Not in odds, but in the % increases,\u201d Ghalibaf wrote in a message to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has been leading the sanctions campaign against Iran.<\/p>\n Bessent said last month that he represents \u201cthe house\u201d, likening the economy to a casino while addressing the national debt and bond market.<\/p>\n Ghalibaf\u2019s remark referred to the increase in inflation, underscoring that the cost of living keeps rising due to the war despite Bessent\u2019s assertions.<\/p>\n Days earlier, he shared an image of a ghost shaped like a bell curve, with diesel prices rising and housing affordability and consumer confidence falling.<\/p>\n Since the start of the war on February 28, Iran has disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, sending energy prices soaring. In the US, the price of diesel is at an all-time record of $6.33 per gallon (3.8 litres), according to the American Automobile Association, and gas is $4.33, up from less than $3 before the war.<\/p>\n Iran has intensified its attacks<\/a> on vessels around the strait in recent days after Trump and his aides repeatedly stressed that the waterway is under US control.<\/p>\n The uptick in energy prices has fuelled overall inflation in the economy, leading the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates<\/a> last month at a time when Trump has been calling for them to be cut to stimulate economic activity.<\/p>\n In a letter to the American public on September 29, Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accused Trump of lying about the cost of the war and the state of the US economy, dismissing the president\u2019s claims that oil prices would soon nosedive.<\/p>\n \u201cCountries around the world have lost their faith in the US economy. Demand for American bonds has plummeted. In fact, countries are starting to offload their US bonds. Soon, the dam will break, and the economy will implode, causing, unfortunately, great pain for Americans for many many years,\u201d the IRGC said.<\/p>\n \u201cAmericans need to wake up. They need to wrest control back from corrupt politicians. Now is the time, as the American political system is at its weakest.\u201d<\/p>\n The US midterm elections are seen as a turning point in the conflict \u2013 not because of their potential outcome, but because of what Trump might do after the vote.<\/p>\n Trump has suggested that he would either strike a deal with Iran or return to a full-scale war after the November 3 legislative elections. He has also dismissed the idea that the vote will have any impact on his Iran policy.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re waiting to see how I do in the midterm election. What they don\u2019t realise is that I\u2019m not running,\u201d Trump said at the United Nations General Assembly<\/a> last month.<\/p>\n \u201cI gave absolutely no credence and will not give credence to the election. When it comes to Iran, it doesn\u2019t even enter my mind. The only thing that does is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n If the Democrats gain control of Congress, they can push for measures to curb Trump\u2019s ability to continue the war, including through withholding funding for the military campaign.<\/p>\n But Toossi said there is a debate within Iran on the potential impact of a Democratic victory in November.<\/p>\n![\"Iranian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/2026-06-21T100721Z_7779319_RC2WXLAGFUXI_RTRMADP_3_IRAN-CRISIS-1792091517.jpg\")
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf arrives at Zurich Airport in Switzerland, June 20, 2026 [Handout\/Iranian Parliament Speaker Office\/West Asia News Agency via Reuters]<\/p>\n