US President Donald Trump has said he does not intend to bomb Iran again until the midterm elections in November, but multiple US media outlets have reported that the Pentagon has drawn up plans to resume attacks before the elections.
President Trump has been accused of misdirection on this issue in the past. The United States launched its first strike against Iran on February 28, as talks with Iran continued, even though President Trump said the day before that nothing had been decided. The United States attacked Iran toward the end of Israel’s 12-day war in June 2025, despite President Trump saying a year ago that he would announce a decision on the attack “within two weeks.”
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Still, war remains deeply unpopular with the American public, so attacking Iran ahead of the midterm elections would be a risk for the administration.
A subsequent resumption of war may have little negative impact on Mr. Trump, who is in any case ineligible to run for another term as president of the United States.
Here’s what we know about Trump’s plan.
Over the past two days, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and other publications have reported claims by anonymous officials that the Pentagon has developed plans to attack Iran before the midterm elections, if allowed.
On Wednesday, US publication Axios, citing US and Israeli officials, said the Pentagon had directed US Central Command (CENTCOM) to prepare for an impending large-scale combat operation. The Atlantic newspaper reported along a similar line.
What did Trump say?
On Thursday, President Trump posted on his Truth social media platform that he would not order a renewed attack on Iran until Nov. 3, the day the U.S. midterm elections are held.
“I want to make it clear to everyone that while Iran is in a very bad situation… we will not attack Iran at any point until the midterm elections in the United States on November 3rd,” he said.
The president added that the United States is currently in “productive discussions” with the Iranian side. But that was also true on February 28, when the United States and Israel first attacked Iran and the war began.
President Trump did not mention preparations for a potential military operation, nor did he elaborate on the status of the talks.
Why is President Trump hesitant to resume bombing before the midterm elections?
President Trump and the Republican Party are worried about a backlash from voters who oppose the war at the polls. America’s war against Iran is highly unpopular at home, as the Middle East crisis has forced Americans to deal with soaring prices for gasoline, food, and other basic necessities.
Since the start of the war, surveys have shown that many Americans disapprove of attacking Iran.
About 65% of Americans now say they “disapprove” of President Trump’s overall handling of the Iran war, according to a Pew Research Center poll released Thursday. President Trump said at the start of the war that “the war would last only a few weeks,” but the war is now in its eighth month.
Pew said most Americans now believe the war will last at least another year. The poll found that even Republican and conservative voters were becoming increasingly negative about the war.
This conflict also had a serious impact on Trump’s personal reputation and undermined his support for the Republican Party. A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Thursday found that only 30% of Democrats were enthusiastic about voting in the midterm elections, compared with 48% of Democrats.
About 13% of people who voted for Trump in 2024 say they don’t know who they’ll vote for in Congress.
Analysts say delaying attacks until after the election could protect Republican candidates from voter backlash.
Analysts believe that if Trump does well in the polls, he will gain approval to strike again, but if Republicans lose in the polls, they may see little to lose at that point, giving Trump even more incentive to attack Iran again.
That may further affect President Trump’s reputation, but in any case, President Trump is not qualified to run for the next presidential election.
Will the US go to war again after the midterm elections?
In recent weeks, as negotiations with Iran drag on, the US president has threatened to “end” the war by force after the election.
At the Republican convention in September, he accused Iran of trying to influence the outcome of the midterm elections and said the conflict would “end immediately after the elections.”
In an interview with Time magazine two weeks ago, the president also said he might ramp up bombing of Iran after the election, but gave no details. Analysts said his comments were aimed at calming voters as well as warning them of a possible invasion of Iran after the vote.
The U.S. military last week sent about 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines to several ships en route to the Middle East amid threats of new attacks from President Trump. The fleet included the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group.
The deployment will increase U.S. military strength in the region to 20,000, with hundreds of aircraft and at least three carrier strike groups.
In the past, U.S. military buildups in the Middle East and the Caribbean have triggered subsequent military action.
In June, the United States and Iran signed a cease-fire agreement, but the dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz quickly fell apart.
President Trump has repeatedly said the United States has the upper hand in the strait, citing increased oil exports and a weakened Iranian economy. He also expressed distaste for an agreement with the Iranian government over control of Hormuz, but said he might consider it because “they are willing to do anything to stop us.”
Washington has rejected Iran’s latest bid to reopen the strait on certain conditions, including lifting sanctions, unfreezing Iranian assets and guaranteeing a cessation of attacks. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said last week that Iran was considering a counteroffer from the United States.
