On the Eve of the Election, Trump Bombs Iran After Promising He Wouldn't Attack
On October 8, he wrote that he would not attack Iran "at any time prior to the Midterm Elections." On Monday (November 2), one day before the vote, American forces struck targets on Qeshm island, in the Strait of Hormuz. The White House called it a "defensive" attack.
Adapted translation of the Portuguese original. Read the original.
CartoonOn October 8, Donald Trump wrote a short sentence on Truth Social: “We will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections”. The election is this Tuesday, November 3.
On Monday (November 2), Iran's state news agency reported explosions on Qeshm island, in the Strait of Hormuz. American officials confirmed to the press that they were U.S. strikes. One of them told the Associated Press that they were “defensive” strikes against Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against American assets. Others told CBS it was a response to Revolutionary Guard fire on a U.S. aircraft.
A Promise With an Expiration Date
The government says this is not the return of the war: the strikes were limited. But the promise had no exception for small attacks, or for defensive ones. It was “at any time.”
On Monday, as he left an event, Trump was asked whether he was considering attacking Iran again after the election. He answered “no.” To the website Axios, he said the U.S. will “do something, one way or another, but there's no rush.” To Fox News, he said it might be necessary to strike Pickaxe, a facility tied to Iran's nuclear program, and that this is “no big deal”: it could be done “in an hour.”
Who Is Pushing
On the other side, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Trump in a phone call over the weekend for a new wave of bombings right after the election, according to regional officials who spoke to the AP. Abestadão reported that pressure in the story about the phone call. Meanwhile, Qatar was mediating a deal: Iran would stop the attacks in the strait, and the U.S. would suspend the blockade of Iranian ports.
Vice President J. D. Vance talked about negotiation.
The Bill at the Gas Pump
The war began in late February, with strikes by the U.S. and Israel. Since then, a gallon of gasoline in the United States has gone from $2.98 to $4.36, a rise of about 40%, and a barrel of Brent crude topped $104 in October. In August, only 31% of Americans supported military action against Iran. The October 8 promise was made for that voter. The November 2 strikes arrived before he voted.
Sources
- Trump says U.S. will not attack Iran before midterm election
On 10/8/2026, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he would not attack Iran before the midterm elections. The war began in late February; Brent topped $104 and gasoline in the U.S. reached $4.36 a gallon, versus $2.98 before the war. In August, only 31% of Americans supported military action against Iran (Reuters/Ipsos).
- US strikes Iran ahead of midterm elections
IRNA reported explosions on Qeshm island on 11/2; American officials told CBS the strikes were limited, in response to Revolutionary Guard fire on a U.S. aircraft. Trump told Axios there is no rush and told Fox the U.S. may need to strike Pickaxe, a site tied to the nuclear program.
- US has conducted defensive strikes on Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz, US official says
A U.S. official said the targets were Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against U.S. assets; the strikes appeared limited. Netanyahu asked Trump, by phone, for a new wave of attacks after the election; Qatar was mediating a deal to reopen the strait in exchange for an end to the blockade of Iranian ports.
