What appeared to be a limited US strike against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz Hours before Tuesday’s US midterm elections, it raises questions about what happens next.
For weeks, the American president Donald Trump said he was considering launching a new wave of strikes against Iran after the election. Just a few days ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressured Trump to resumption of military actionaccording to two regional officials and a third person familiar with the matter.
The Middle East and beyond I was at the end of my nerves on the prospects of the United States resuming large-scale operations against Iran for the first time in almost two months.
Talks aimed at avoiding that are underway, and other U.S. allies in the region are pressuring the United States not to resume negotiations. a war that has lasted for more than 8 months it shook the global economy and wreaked havoc in Iran.
Trump has alternated between threatening major strikes and pushing for a deal with Iran.
THE unpopular war and the result impact on gasoline prices in the United States and other parts of the economy have posed a vulnerability for his Republican Party as it tries to maintain control of Congress.
Strikes were targeted in the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian state media reported explosions heard on the islands of Qeshm and Hengam in the strategic area. Strait of Hormuzand in the neighboring mainland area of Bandar Abbas.
A U.S. official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Monday that the strikes targeted Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against the United States in the strait.
Iranian official says US must resolve conditions
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 would not reopen until the United States addresses the conditions imposed by Iran.
Iran has offered to reopen the strait and resume negotiations on its nuclear program if the United States lifts its naval blockade on Iranian ports, lifts sanctions on Iranian oil sales and observes a ceasefire, including in Lebanon.
Vice President Vance revived hopes for a negotiated settlement
Behind-the-scenes negotiations are taking place as Israel and some Middle Eastern allies pressure Trump.
Speaking before the US official confirmed the strikes, US Vice President JD Vance said on Monday that he and Trump “both feel pretty good about the prospects of reaching a negotiated settlement.”
We know that the Trump administration last time carried out attacks in early September. But thousands of U.S. troops remain in 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 more troops are also on their way to the Middle East.
Netanyahu pushed for new wave of strikes against Iran after US elections on a call with Trump this weekend, according to two regional officials and a third person familiar with the matter. Both officials said diplomatic efforts had progressed and mediators were trying to propose a framework for Iran to cease its attacks across the strait in exchange for lifting the U.S. blockade.
The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing classified briefings they received from U.S. and, in one case, Israeli officials. The third person, who was informed of the call, was not authorized to comment publicly and also spoke on condition of anonymity.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi has called on Iran and the United States to engage in dialogue and reach an agreement to resolve their ongoing conflict, warning of further military escalation in the region.
Iranians monitor US elections
Some in Tehran hoped the midterm elections would lead to a change in American policy.
“The American people must make a fundamental decision and make real change. They must end the leadership of someone who is so extreme and who runs things with lies, someone who supports Israel, a country that literally kills children,” said Reza Rezaei, 69.
One woman was less optimistic.
“It doesn’t matter who comes to power,” said Raheleh Movahhed, also from 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.”
Iran’s chief negotiator says it’s up to US to prevent renewed war
Iranian state television quoted the country’s chief negotiator and speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, as saying Tuesday that Iran had “provided 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 which response he was referring to.
Qalibaf also warned that the Iranian armed forces remained at the highest level of defensive preparedness.
“If Washington makes another strategic miscalculation, it must know that this time it will face a new battlefield and find itself even more desperate than today,” he said.
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Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Cara Anna contributed to this report.
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