Trump gears up for Iran escalation after US polls; Tehran says position unchanged

Trump hits at resuming strikes on Iran; Tehran's position unchanged

US President Donald Trump has hinted that his forces in the Mideast would resume strikes on Iran after the US midterm elections on Nov 3. The President has already sent a third aircraft carrier strike group and 10,000 additional sailors and Marines toward the Persian Gulf to give US commanders more options if he restarts hostilities.Last week, defence secretary Pete Hegseth also made an unannounced stop in Israel — which launched the war against Iran alongside the US — where he met with PM Benjamin Netanyahu just days ahead of the Israeli leader’s sensitive re-election bid. Staffing at Middle Eastern bases, which have been hit hard by Iranian counterstrikes, has reportedly been reduced.The US State Department this week ordered the departure of some diplomats and families in Saudi Arabia, following the Iran-backed Houthis expanding the conflict into Saudi Arabia.

Houthis have pummelled the Riyadh airport and energy facilities with drones and missiles, killing dozens and wounding hundreds.Against that backdrop, Iran is bracing for a fresh US bombing campaign around midterms and is preparing to retaliate across West Asia, including against Israel and UAE, according to a person familiar with Tehran’s thinking. The period between the US polls and when the new Congress takes office in Jan will be the most difficult period.

Resumption of war won’t change Tehran’s position, says Iran minister

The only way out of the current conflict is a deal that allows both sides to claim a win, Iranian minister said.Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that a potential resumption of war with Israel and the US would not change his country’s positions. “Recently, there has been talk of a new war, but I am already thinking about the post-war period. Whether there is war or not, our policies remain the same,” said Araghchi during a televised event in Tehran.

“They have already done so twice and have seen the results. If they want to try again, they know they will achieve no different outcome from those of the past.

”Some Gulf-state officials have a high degree of confidence that violence will resume, and said they fear it could be worse than before the pause, according to a person familiar with the UAE govt’s thinking. “We’ve knocked the hell out of them — and we may do it a little bit further,” Trump told reporters Thursday, echoing that sentiment.Meanwhile, Iran is attacking more ships in or near the Strait of Hormuz — and causing more severe damage — than earlier in the conflict as it deploys guided missiles rather than attack drones, according to shipping and maritime security officials.Renewed fighting could help Netanyahu force political rivals into a national unity govt, while strikes could help Trump project a “dramatic show of force to project strength at home”, according to International Crisis Group Mideast expert Ali Vaez. “Both Trump and Netanyahu may see war with Iran as a political escape hatch,” Vaez said. “But both risk discovering that a war intended to rescue their political fortunes could end up burying them.