Iran bombing could ramp up after midterm elections: Donald Trump

President Donald Trump said it is “possible” that the United States (US) could ramp up military strikes against Iran after the November midterm elections, as his administration struggles to find an exit plan for a war now in its eighth month. 

 

Trump has indicated in recent weeks that he believed Iran was stalling on diplomatic talks until after the elections, in which his Republican Party faces a tough path to retain control of Congress. 

 

The United States (US) president rejected a recent proposal from Iran that would have reopened the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for US concessions such as ending a blockade on Iranian ports or easing oil sanctions. 

 

 

Asked if he would resume bombing Iran after the midterms, Trump told Time magazine in an interview published Thursday that it was “possible.” “I can’t tell you that because look, you know, you’re asking, where are you going to bomb,” he added, when pressed for more details. Trump also downplayed concerns over US munitions stockpiles, saying that the US had “a lot of weapons,” including lower-grade weaponry. 

 

“Some forms of ammunition are a little bit lower than other forms. We have that middle grade and upper middle grade, which is very powerful, which is stronger than it’s ever been before,” Trump said.

 

Polls show voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of the war, which has also brought a rise in energy prices further straining household budgets ahead of an election in which living costs are the dominant issue. Iranian officials indicated Wednesday they have received

an official US response to Tehran’s latest proposal to end the seven-month war, which US President Donald Trump had publicly rejected just days earlier. The officials did not say

what the response contained and whether it was a rejection.

 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi presented the US response to President Masoud Pezeshkian at a Cabinet meeting, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told the state run IRNA news agency. “We will make every effort to bring the agreement to fruition and will firmly stand up for the rights of the Iranian people,” Pezeshkian said. “The agreement must now be based on a win-win strategy.” 

 

The Cabinet meeting followed Araghchi’s return to Iran after travelling to New York for last week’s UN General Assembly, where officials held indirect talks with US officials and also met with Qatari and Pakistani mediators on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders. 

 

Araghchi briefed the Cabinet on his trip to New York and the meetings he held there,

including Iran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which Mohajerani said had been conveyed through mediators. Araghchi last week said he floated the proposal to reopen the strait in a week if the US agreed to lift its blockade of Iranian ports, release frozen Iranian assets and waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions.

 

Trump swiftly rejected the proposal, saying Iran wanted to make a deal because it was

“losing so badly” but that its offer “would not be acceptable.” Despite Trump’s public rebuffing, mediators continued working with Iran and the US to try to broker a deal to

end the fighting and open the strait, according to officials who were not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

 

Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department unveiled new sanctions on Tuesday targeting people and companies around the globe that it accuses of being financial facilitators or enablers of Iran’s military supply chain. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Iran’s foreign minister and his delegation to the UN General Assembly to leave New York earlier than they had planned, two US officials said Wednesday. 

 

The Trump administration had granted visas, albeit with severe restrictions, to Iran’s president and foreign minister and their delegations to attend the annual meeting of world leaders despite the hostilities between the two countries. While President Pezeshkian left New York a day after speaking at the United Nations last week, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had remained behind ostensibly to participate in indirect talks with the US on opening the Strait of Hormuz.