Trump Weighs Next Steps on Iran War After Midterm Losses

President Donald Trump has not ordered a resumption of major strikes on Iran in the days after the midterm elections, though he has said the United States remains ready to act if necessary.

On November 4 Trump told the Financial Times that the sides appeared to be getting what they wanted and that there might be no reason for further strikes. He added that the United States is locked and loaded if needed. In a Fox News interview the same day he said the Iran war was not the primary reason Republicans lost control of Congress, though Vice President JD Vance had written that the war was the reason for the losses. Trump called that assessment largely true but said he would make the same decision again because Iran cannot be allowed a nuclear weapon.

The war began in February when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran. It has now entered its ninth month. A short-lived interim agreement in June established a framework for a 60-day ceasefire and further talks. That framework has not produced a permanent settlement. Iran has continued to press demands related to the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for global energy supplies. U.S. officials have maintained a blockade on Iranian oil exports.

Before the midterms Trump stated publicly that the United States would not attack Iran before the November 3 elections. He described discussions with Tehran as productive. After the vote, reports indicated that the administration had briefed Gulf states to prepare for possible post-election strikes. Trump met with the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, Admiral Brad Cooper, along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine, in late October to review options.

Democrats will control both the House and Senate when the new Congress is seated in January. They can investigate the conduct of the war and attach conditions to future funding. A two-thirds vote in both chambers would be required to override a presidential veto of any measure limiting military action. Trump retains authority to order strikes on national-security grounds in the interim. The window before the new Congress takes office is roughly two months.

Iran has stated it is prepared for strikes at any moment and will retaliate. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran sent a nuclear proposal via Qatar that would be discussed only after the United States meets seven demands related to reopening the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. officials said they were reviewing the proposal. Oil prices have risen during the conflict, contributing to higher gasoline costs in the United States. Polling before the midterms showed that roughly 60 percent of Americans, including one in four Republicans, disapproved of Trump's handling of the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pressed for additional strikes. The conflict has also drawn in Iran-backed Houthi forces that have attacked Saudi infrastructure. The United States has moved additional naval assets toward the region, including a third aircraft carrier strike group. No large-scale U.S. strikes on Iran have occurred since early September.

Trump has said the war will end whenever he decides it should end. He has predicted a non-nuclear Iran. The midterm results remove the immediate electoral constraint he cited before the vote. The next several weeks will show whether he orders further military action, pursues the existing negotiating channel, or maintains the current posture of blockade and limited operations. Democratic control of Congress will not take effect until January, leaving the executive branch with its existing authorities in the meantime.