Allies told to brace for Iranian retaliation after U.S. midterms

U.S. expects Iran strikes to target energy facilities, infrastructure

Two diplomats briefed on the sensitive warnings said U.S. officials told several Middle East countries and regional allies to prepare for possible renewed military action against Iran after the Nov. 3 midterm elections and for possible Iranian retaliation. The diplomats stressed that Trump had not made a final decision on new strikes, although he has repeatedly said he is weighing military action once the elections end.

Both diplomats spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on the warnings conveyed by U.S. diplomats and defense officials. The warnings placed the region on alert that a return to major military operations could be on the horizon.

The diplomats said U.S. officials told regional allies that a new round of military action could last for several days, while regional officials were bracing for Iran and its proxy groups to retaliate in a fight that could last even longer. They said U.S. officials also urged allies to take precautionary measures in anticipation that Iran’s response will include retaliatory strikes on energy facilities and other crucial infrastructure. The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that Gulf nations were being briefed to be prepared for potential escalation by the U.S.

On the diplomatic track, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday in a post on X that Tehran “continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed.” He said Iran was working with mediators to review ideas Tehran included in a proposal floated the previous month, which Trump summarily rejected, and that Iran still wanted the proposal used as the basis for returning to a ceasefire.

The United Arab Emirates foreign ministry separately urged the sides to “exercise wisdom and pursue political solutions to help contain tensions” and prevent a return to full-scale operations in the war that began in late February. The White House and U.S. officials declined to comment.

The United States has not carried out a strike against Iran since early September, but the conflict has spread. Iran-backed Houthi rebels have carried out attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure and airports, and a Saudi-led coalition has responded with its own deadly attacks on Houthi-held territory in Yemen.

It remains unclear how soon after Election Day the U.S. military would be ready to resume strikes. Late last month, the Pentagon deployed the USS Theodore Roosevelt and a series of amphibious landing ships with Marines aboard — roughly 9,000 troops in all — from San Diego to the Persian Gulf. At the time, one U.S. official said the deployment could lead to an unusually high naval presence of more than 20,000 sailors and Marines and hundreds of aircraft, a level reached only a handful of times in the previous two decades. The Navy had three carrier strike groups in the Middle East in April for the first time since 2003.

Trump has focused in recent weeks on campaigning for Republicans before the Nov. 3 elections and has been evasive about what he plans to do next with Iran. The conflict has weighed on Republican candidates as they make their case to voters fatigued by rising gasoline prices, a byproduct of the war that has driven up costs across nearly every sector in the global economy.

At a campaign stop in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday, Trump said a conclusive end to the eight-month-old conflict could come “in a couple of weeks, if you don’t mind.” Earlier in the same address, Trump said, “Somebody asked me before, when will the war in Iran end?” He continued, “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.”

Trump has consistently assured voters that the war’s end is near while also threatening that a new round of bombing could come once the election passes. The cost of fighting the Iran war to American taxpayers has grown to $47.1 billion, according to the latest estimate the Pentagon has provided to Congress.

Jonathan Schanzer, executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the region was on edge that Tehran could act provocatively before the election, particularly if Iran believed U.S. action was imminent. “Why would they wait until after the elections here … if they could initiate it and potentially gain the upper hand?” he said.