US Warns Middle East Allies to Prepare for Possible Renewed Strikes on Iran After Midterm Elections

Washington: United States officials have advised several Middle Eastern countries and regional allies to prepare for possible renewed military action against Iran following next week’s midterm elections in the United States, as well as for potential Iranian retaliation against them, according to two diplomats briefed on the matter.

The diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive warnings conveyed by U.S. diplomatic and defense officials, stressed that President Donald Trump has not yet made a final decision on whether to order new strikes. The president has, however, repeatedly said he is weighing fresh military action once the Nov. 3 elections are over.

These statements, together with the latest U.S. advice to allies to brace for retaliation, have placed the region on alert that a return to major operations may be approaching. The White House and U.S. officials declined to comment.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday in a post on X that Tehran “continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed.” He said Iran is working with mediators to review ideas contained in a proposal it put forward last month, which Trump rejected, and which Tehran still wishes to see serve as the basis for a return to a ceasefire.

The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement calling on the parties to “exercise wisdom and pursue political solutions to help contain tensions” and to avoid a return to full-scale hostilities in the war that began in late February.

According to the diplomats, the United States has informed regional allies that a new round of military action could last several days. Regional officials, however, are preparing for retaliation by Iran and its proxy groups, which could prolong the fighting further. U.S. officials have also urged allies to take precautionary measures, anticipating that Iran’s response may include strikes on energy facilities and other critical infrastructure.

Military Readiness Remains Unclear

Although the United States has not carried out a strike on Iran since early September, the situation in the Middle East has grown more complex. The conflict has widened, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacking Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure and airports, and a Saudi-led coalition responding with deadly strikes on Houthi-held territory in Yemen.

The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Gulf states had been briefed to prepare for a possible U.S. escalation.

It remains unclear how soon after Election Day the U.S. military would be in a position to resume strikes. Late last month, the Pentagon deployed the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, along with several amphibious landing ships carrying Marines, totalling roughly 9,000 personnel, from San Diego to the Persian Gulf to reinforce U.S. forces in the region.

At the time, a U.S. official said the deployment could bring the regional naval presence to more than 20,000 sailors and Marines, along with hundreds of aircraft, a level reached only a handful of times in the past two decades. In April, the Navy had three carrier strike groups in the Middle East for the first time since 2003.

War Weighs on Midterm Campaign

Trump, who has spent recent weeks campaigning for Republican candidates, has remained noncommittal about his next steps on Iran. The war has become a significant burden for Republican candidates facing voters frustrated by rising gasoline prices, a consequence of the conflict that has pushed up costs across almost every sector of the global economy. According to the Pentagon’s latest estimate to Congress, the cost of the war to American taxpayers has reached $47.1 billion.

On the campaign trail, Trump has consistently assured voters that the war is nearing its end, while also warning that a new bombing campaign could follow the election. Speaking at a campaign event in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday, he said a conclusive end to the eight-month conflict could come “in a couple of weeks, if you don’t mind.”

“Somebody asked me before, when will the war in Iran end?” Trump said. “I said, ‘Whenever I want it to end.’ It’ll be very quick, but we have to have it end properly, with total and complete — a total statement, they will never have a nuclear weapon.”

While Washington may be considering a post-election timeline, there are concerns in the region that Tehran could act provocatively beforehand, particularly if it believes U.S. action is imminent, said Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington-based think tank.

“Why would they wait until after the elections here … if they could initiate it and potentially gain the upper hand?” he said.