Iranians brace for renewed conflict as US and Israeli elections loom
Iranian citizens are growing anxious about a possible all-out war as US and Israeli elections draw near, amid heightened military activity and worsening economic conditions.
As US midterm elections and a tight Israeli vote approach, Netanyahu declared that Iran's leadership must be removed and Trump vowed to complete the mission in Iran, deploying an additional aircraft carrier and thousands of troops. A US naval blockade of Iranian ports has crippled oil revenues, leading to medicine shortages, record inflation and a sharp decline in the rial's value. Tehran inhabitants such as Fereshteh Hajipour and Mohammad Abedi are hoarding supplies and some, like gym trainer Hashem Vajdani, are planning to relocate northward.
Iranian officials, including Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Masoud Pezeshkian, blame Washington for economic warfare and stress that resistance, not pressure, will shape negotiations. Political moderates call for a US-Iran deal to ease the crisis, but analysts warn that if Netanyahu remains in power the risk of a full-scale war rises.
Why it matters
The story shows how election politics and military moves are deepening Iran's economic crisis and raising the risk of wider regional conflict.
How this story developed
- Sep 29 Oil prices jump as US-Iran tensions flare and US troops leave Iraq
- Oct 8 Trump publicly ruled out an Iranian strike before the midterm elections.
- Oct 9 Oil prices rose sharply as uncertainty over the U.S. stance on Iran grew.
- Oct 11 Trump has kept large‑scale military pressure on Iran on hold for the next 24 days until the midterm elections conclude.
- Oct 13 Trump’s Strait of Hormuz announcement and dismissal of Iran’s UN proposal occurred alongside a Brent price jump and the departure of the final U.S. soldiers from Iraq.
- Oct 14 Trump warned that Washington will soon decide its next move against Iran.
- Oct 17 President Pezeshkian issued a new statement declaring talks with the United States futile.
- Oct 20 During an unannounced trip, US Defense Secretary Χέγκσεθ met Israeli Prime Minister Νετανιάχου at an air base in the southern desert. Israeli officials declined to detail the discussion, while the US Defense Department offered no comment. The encounter occurred as friction between the United States and Iran intensifies, and regional militant activity escalates.
- Oct 21 Pete Hegseth’s visit, initially unreported, has now been confirmed.
- Oct 21 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared a more extensive attack on Iran for Oct. 10, but President Donald Trump opposed the plan ahead of the U.S. midterms.
- Oct 23 Netanyahu announced plans for a larger strike on Iran.
- Oct 24 Trump hinted at a possible limited “Epic Fury” operation against Iran.
- Oct 24 Former President Barack Obama publicly criticized Trump’s conduct of the Iran war and tied it to cost‑of‑living concerns.
- Oct 26 Trump said a choice remains between a "very easy" new strike and a diplomatic deal, and no strike would occur that day.
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