U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States will not attack Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, drawing a clear public line on military action just hours after reports that the Pentagon had been preparing options for renewed strikes against the Islamic Republic before Americans go to the polls.
“We are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He said Iran was in “very bad condition” economically and militarily, but stressed that the U.S. blockade would remain in force. Trump claimed that 22 million barrels of oil had passed through the Strait of Hormuz the previous night, with none entering or leaving Iran. “We will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections,” he wrote, adding: “Iran will not have a nuclear weapon!”
The statement came after a series of U.S. media reports suggested the possibility of renewed military action was being actively prepared. NBC News reported that Trump and his national security team had discussed large-scale operations that could begin within weeks, while The Atlantic reported that the Pentagon had been asked to develop options that could be carried out before the November 3 elections. Axios reported that U.S. Central Command had been instructed several days earlier to complete preparations for a possible resumption of major combat operations, although no date had been set and Trump had made no final decision.
According to Axios, a renewed campaign could involve extensive strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure, other strategic facilities and nuclear targets. The Atlantic, citing administration officials, reported that the pre-election planning was linked in part to Trump’s desire to demonstrate progress in the conflict before the vote, although officials stressed that the scope, timing and even whether strikes would take place remained undecided.
The possibility of military action before the election represented a shift from the administration’s earlier messaging. In August, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told U.S. allies that Washington was not planning a return to major combat operations “for the time being,” with an American official saying that policy was expected to remain in place at least until after the midterms. The administration instead focused on sanctions, a naval blockade and increasing the flow of non-Iranian oil through the Strait of Hormuz.
Aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt
(Photo: Song Kyung-Seok / POOL / AFP)
At the same time, Washington has continued strengthening its military presence in the region. Ynetnews reported last week that the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and an additional Marine unit were being sent toward the Middle East amid the confrontation with Iran, the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and escalating fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen. U.S. officials have also said stalled diplomacy has increased concern that major fighting could resume.
Trump’s latest statement now appears to remove one of the most immediate possibilities raised in those reports: a U.S.-initiated attack before November 3. It does not, however, rule out military action after the elections, while leaving Washington’s economic pressure campaign and military preparations in place.