Trump says no Iran strike today as war fears mount

President Donald Trump said on Sunday, Oct. 25, that "there will not be a strike today" on Iran. He spoke as he left the White House for a rally in Michigan, a day after saying an attack could come "maybe tomorrow". Earlier on Sunday he told Fox News that his choice was "do I make a deal with them, or do I finish them off?" (CBS News).nytimes.com+1

The back-and-forth comes at a dangerous point in the war. Elections in Israel and the US, fresh US intelligence on Iranian plots and each side's search for a reason to act are raising the risk of a return to full-scale fighting, according to an analysis in The New York Times.aljazeera.com

Plots and target lists

On Oct. 23, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries," he said. The State Department is cutting staff at its embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Earlier in the week it ordered nonessential staff to leave Saudi Arabia.apnews.com

Trump has said he will not attack before the Nov. 3 midterms but has hinted that this could change afterward. Senior officials say that in private he is leaning toward another round of major strikes. Central Command plans list more bombing targets, including energy infrastructure. Two Iranian officials, one from the Revolutionary Guard, told the Times that US diplomats were now among the targets. Because the US and Israel had killed Iranian officials and their relatives, they called Americans "fair game".nytimes.com

Tehran's defiance

Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohebbi warned that "even if the enemy makes a limited move, Iran's response will be several times greater". Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told lawmakers on Sunday that Iranians "will not give in to the US military threats or pressures under any circumstances." He promised an "unimaginable response" to any attack, according to Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran's policies will stay the same "whether there is war or not".en.mehrnews.com+2

Bracing for the elections

Many Iranians expect all-out war to resume ahead of Israel's election on Tuesday, Oct. 27, and the US midterms a week later. A US naval blockade has limited Iran's oil exports and caused medicine shortages. Trucks are backed up at the borders as trade moves overland, and some Tehran residents are stockpiling supplies or getting ready to leave the city. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Iran and its proxies might try to disrupt the Israeli vote. "Don't test us," he said.latimes.com+1

"They've accepted that he will attack us again, before or after the elections," said University of Tehran professor Sasan Karimi.latimes.com