Iran prolongs talks in stalemate to influence U.S. midterms, officials say
People walk by a mural depicting Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on a street in Tehran, in August. | West Asia News Agency / via REUTERS
Oct 20, 2026
Dubai – Iran has deliberately prolonged talks with Washington to try to weaken U.S. President Donald Trump politically ahead of November’s U.S. midterm elections, senior officials say, while fears of renewed military action and deep distrust of Washington have reinforced Tehran’s reluctance to strike a quick deal to end the war.
Three senior Iranian officials and an Iranian insider, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tehran was convinced Trump was ready to resort to renewed attacks to try to break the stalemate in the eight-month-old war.
“Iran is preparing for renewed Israeli and U.S. attacks, not for a deal with America to end the war,” one of the officials said. “The clerical establishment is determined not to give Trump a political victory.”
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