US warns allies to brace for Iran strikes after midterms

Washington — American officials have warned several West Asian countries to be ready for possible renewed military action against Iran after next Tuesday's midterm elections — and for Iranian retaliation aimed at them as well. That is according to two diplomats briefed on the messages, The Hindu reported.

Both diplomats spoke anonymously, saying they were not authorised to discuss the warnings, which were delivered by US diplomats and defence officials. They stressed that President Donald Trump has made no final decision on new strikes. But he has repeatedly said he is weighing fresh military action once the November 3 vote is behind him.

Washington has told allies a new round of operations could last several days. Regional officials, the diplomats said, are bracing for something longer, expecting Iran and its proxy groups to hit back. Allies have been urged to take precautions against retaliatory strikes on energy facilities and other critical infrastructure. The White House declined to comment.

Tehran, for its part, says it still wants a negotiated end. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X on Wednesday that Tehran “continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed” and is working with mediators on ideas from a proposal floated last month — one Mr Trump rejected outright. The United Arab Emirates urged the sides to “exercise wisdom and pursue political solutions” and avoid a return to full-scale operations in the war that began in late February.

The US has not struck Iran since early September, but the conflict has widened, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacking Saudi oil infrastructure and airports and a Saudi-led coalition hitting Houthi-held territory in Yemen. The Pentagon last month sent the USS Theodore Roosevelt and amphibious landing ships carrying Marines — roughly 9,000 troops — from San Diego to the Gulf. One US official said at the time the build-up could bring an unusually large naval presence of more than 20,000 sailors and Marines and hundreds of aircraft.

The eight-month war is weighing on Republican candidates, as voters tire of high gasoline prices. The Pentagon estimates the fighting has cost American taxpayers $47.1 billion. Campaigning in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday, Mr Trump said an end could come “in a couple of weeks, if you don't mind”, while insisting it must finish with Iran never obtaining a nuclear weapon.

What comes next turns on the days around the election. Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank, warned Tehran might act first if it believes US strikes are imminent. Gulf capitals, already pushing a multipart deal to avert a wider war, are now waiting to see whether November 3 opens the way to talks — or to bombing.