What appeared to be a limited strike by the United States on Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz hours before Tuesday’s midterm U.S. elections is raising questions about what’s coming next.
For weeks now, U.S. President Donald Trump has said he was considering launching a new wave of strikes on Iran after the elections. Just days ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed Trump for renewed military action, according to two regional
officials and a third person familiar with the matter.
The Middle East and beyond have been on edge about the prospects of the U.S. resuming full-scale operations against Iran for the first time in almost two months.
Talks aimed at avoiding that are ongoing, and other American allies in the region are pressuring the U.S. not to resume the more than 8-month-old war that’s rattled the global economy and wreaked havoc on Iran.
Trump has alternated between threatening major strikes and pushing for a deal with Iran.
The unpopular war and the resulting impact on U.S. gasoline prices and other parts of the economy have been a vulnerability for his Republican Party as it tries to keep control of Congress.
Iranian state media reported explosions being heard on the islands of Qeshm and Hengam in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and in the nearby mainland area of Bandar Abbas.
A U.S. official, who wasn’t authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Monday that the strikes targeted Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against the U.S. in the strait.
The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said Tuesday that the U.S. response to Tehran’s demands to end the war was not convincing.
Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaei wrote on social media that the strait won’t reopen until the U.S. addresses Iran’s conditions.
Iran has offered to reopen the strait, and resume talks on its nuclear program if the U.S. lifts its naval blockade on Iranian ports, waives sanctions on Iranian oil sales, and observes a ceasefire including in Lebanon.
Back-channel negotiations have been playing out as Israel and some Middle East allies lobby Trump.
Speaking before the U.S. official confirmed strikes, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Monday that he and Trump “both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement.”
The Trump administration was last known to have carried out attacks in early September. But thousands of U.S. troops remain in the waters off Iran to maintain a naval blockade aimed at preventing tankers carrying Iranian oil from reaching the global market. Another aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops are also on their way to the Middle East.
Netanyahu pushed for another wave of strikes on Iran after the U.S. elections during a call with Trump over the weekend, according to two regional officials and a third person familiar with the matter. The two officials said diplomatic efforts have made progress and that mediators are trying to advance a framework for Iran to cease its attacks in the strait in return for the U.S. lifting its blockade.
The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing classified briefings they had received from American and, in one case, Israeli officials. The third person, who was briefed on the call, was not authorized to comment publicly and also spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has called on Iran and the U.S. to engage in dialogue and reach an agreement to resolve their ongoing conflict, warning against further military escalation in the region.
Some people in Tehran were hopeful that the midterm elections would bring a shift in U.S. policies.
“The American people need to make a fundamental decision and bring about real change. They need to put an end to the leadership of someone who is so extreme and who runs things through lies, someone who supports Israel, a country that is literally killing children,” said 69-year-old Reza Rezaei.
One woman was less optimistic.
“It doesn’t really make much difference who comes into power," said Raheleh Movahhed, also of Tehran. “The American government and its policies have always had a problem with us. I’m not talking about the American people, mind you. I’m talking about their policies.”
Iranian state television quoted the country’s chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, as saying on Tuesday that Iran had “delivered a firm and rational response to the American side. The ball is now in America’s court to prevent war.” It was not immediately clear what response he was referring to.
Qalibaf also warned that Iran’s armed forces remained at the highest level of defensive readiness.
“If Washington makes another strategic miscalculation, it should know that this time it will face a new battlefield and will find itself even more desperate than it is today,” he said.
___
Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Cara Anna contributed to this report.
