Trump prepares for Iran escalation after U.S. and Israeli elections

U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth salute during a dignified transfer for soldiers killed amid the conflict with Iran at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, in July. | Kenny Holston / The New York Times

Bloomberg

Oct 25, 2026

A Middle East war that U.S. President Donald Trump said would be over in a matter of weeks now looks set to escalate as it enters its eighth month.

Trump has repeatedly hinted that his forces in the Mideast would resume strikes on Iran after the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3. The president has already sent a third aircraft carrier strike group and 10,000 additional sailors and Marines toward the Persian Gulf to give U.S. commanders more options if he restarts hostilities. 

Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also made an unannounced stop in Israel — which launched the war against Iran alongside the U.S. — where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just days ahead of the Israeli leader’s sensitive reelection bid. Staffing at Mideast bases, which have been hit hard by Iranian counterstrikes, has reportedly been reduced.

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