President Donald Trump is no longer ruling out a US strike on Iran before the midterm elections, less than a day after he said flatly that it would not happen.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Friday, Trump was asked why military action against Iran was being tied to the midterms and why the US was not acting now. "We may. I mean, we'll see," he said.
On Thursday, Trump had written on Truth Social that the United States would not attack Iran at any point before the November 3 vote. He said Washington was holding productive talks with Tehran and that the American blockade would stay fully in place.
He did not explain the change. Later Friday, at a campaign rally in New York, he warned that he would finish the job if Iran refused a deal, and said the matter would be settled quickly one way or the other. He also repeated that Iran is in severe distress after the fighting.
The military option has been ready for some time. The Pentagon, on Trump's orders, has prepared an intensive three-day campaign against Iran's missile and drone arsenals, energy infrastructure and military sites, the New York Times reported. Trump has turned down five proposals for major operations in recent months.
Any American decision lands directly on Israel, which votes on October 27. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has told US officials that renewed fighting with Iran in the coming weeks could force a postponement of the election, since Iran would likely answer with missile fire on Israel. On Saturday, Ben Caspit reported in Maariv that Washington had pressed Israel to strike Iran on its own before dropping the demand.
