Donald Trump is weighing a major military operation against Iran as he seeks to project strength before a pivotal midterm election that could be shaped by the ongoing conflict.
The president’s approval rating has fallen since the US strikes began in February, while Democrats are increasingly positioned to win back the House and possibly reclaim control of the Senate.
Two White House officials told The Atlantic that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has been asked to develop potential military strike plans against Iran ahead of the midterm elections.
According to the officials, Trump wants to convince voters that he is taking decisive action to bring down fuel costs while also pushing the Iran war toward a conclusion before Americans vote on November 3.
“The Commander-in-Chief has all options available at any time,” a White House official told The Daily Mail. “President Trump holds all the cards and will do whatever is best for the United States.”
The official also repeated Trump’s assertion that the conflict is nearing an end and that the United States is on course for victory.
“The United States is in a very strong position with control of the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian economy collapsing. Iran has been decimated, and things will go one of two ways; the easy way or the hard way,” the official said.
A Pentagon spokesperson declined to address the specific report, but told the Mail that the department’s responsibility is “to develop and present military options to the President.”
Officials say Trump wants to demonstrate that he is serious about cutting gas prices and bringing the Iran conflict closer to an end before the November 3 elections
Rising fuel costs could help fuel a Democratic “blue wave” during the midterm elections
The scope and potential targets of any operation remain under discussion, officials said. US Central Command is working on the proposals, but the president has not approved a final plan.
Even within the administration, there is an understanding that airstrikes alone would be unlikely to force Tehran back to negotiations or immediately reduce fuel prices. Still, officials believe voters could interpret military action as evidence of momentum.
“It would make the president look like he got a win and that gas prices would start going down,” said a Republican familiar with the negotiations.
Trump is simultaneously dealing with historically weak approval numbers and a cost-of-living squeeze that has been intensified by the Iran conflict.
Diesel prices climbed to roughly $6.50 per gallon last month, raising the expense of moving goods ranging from food and household supplies to building materials throughout the United States.
The sharp increase has been linked to overseas instability surrounding the wars in Ukraine and Iran, including attacks affecting refineries in Russia and across the Middle East.
A new Reuters/Ipsos survey put Trump’s approval rating at 32 percent. The poll also showed 44 percent of respondents favoring Democratic congressional candidates, compared with 37 percent backing Republicans.
The findings come as Republican candidates increasingly acknowledge that the Iran war and its economic fallout are weighing on their standing with voters.
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Fighting around the Strait of Hormuz has pushed up oil prices worldwide. US diesel reached a record high on September 22, squeezing truck drivers and increasing delivery expenses
Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton was asked what he believed was “dragging” down his campaign. In audio from a September 24 event, he replied: “It’s not tariffs…. It’s the war, it’s gas prices, it’s diesel,” according to the recording.
The conflict in the Middle East, now in its eighth month, has pushed gasoline above $4 a gallon. Only around a third of Americans approve of the strikes on Iran.
Republican Senate candidates in Iowa, Michigan and Ohio have publicly urged Trump to end the war.
Iran’s top diplomat insisted on Sunday that there would be no military solution to the United States’ war against the Islamic republic, with talks on ending the conflict apparently at an impasse.
A campaign of heavy bombardment failed to bring a decisive close to the war launched by the US and Israel in late February, and Washington in recent weeks has dialed back military operations in favor of economic pressure.
The main point of contention remains Iran’s attempt to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for Gulf oil and gas where a UK maritime agency reported on Sunday another tanker was struck by an unknown projectile.
The two sides agreed a memorandum of understanding in June that spelled out a framework for a permanent resolution, but Iranian attacks on vessels in the Hormuz prompted a return to US military operations.
Iran has sought to impose its control over the vital shipping lane since the start of the war, striking vessels that attempt to transit without its authorization.
Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton (pictured left) slammed Trump on the war
The US has imposed its own counterblockade of Iranian ports, and has also struck vessels it accuses of violating it.
Gas prices in the US and abroad have soared during the eight-month-long war, a cost Trump has repeatedly said is worth it for making sure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons.
The national average for a gallon of diesel in the US was $6.37 on Friday, according to AAA, after hitting a record $6.52 on September 22. Diesel prices have hit records in Europe, too.
Trump has previously said it’s ‘possible’ he may ramp up bombing of Iran after the midterm elections and that he rejected Iran’s latest peace offer because it’s not good enough.
Trump said in a Time magazine interview published Thursday that he won’t now accept proposals from Iran that ‘he wouldn’t have approved a year ago.’
He left open the possibility of resuming bombing Iran after the election. He refused to offer details, telling journalists, ‘I can´t tell you that because look, you know, you´re asking, where are you going to bomb?’
He told Time magazine that he only heard about those reports on the same day that the September 28 interview was conducted with Time reporters, adding ‘I can’t imagine this.’
Trump said had Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu been forewarned, ‘he would have done something about it’ or ‘would have had people at least alert.’