The United States appears to be preparing to resume large-scale strikes against Iran, but there is unlikely to be a military solution for either side in the devastating conflict, experts say.
“I’m banking now on the likelihood of strikes shortly after the midterms,” said Suzanne Maloney, director of the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution, referring to November 3 elections in the United States. Additionally, President Donald Trump “came out publicly and said that he wouldn’t strike before the midterms,” and “it wouldn’t seem to help him at the polls to do so,” Maloney said. “Fundamentally, the situation isn’t sustainable in its current state,” Maloney said, noting that the US blockade is “creating greater pain for the Iranians,” while Washington has a large number of naval assets tied up in enforcing it. “There has to be some kind of a resolution, either through diplomacy or through military action,” she said. Asked about the Iran on Friday, Trump told journalists that “we could end it very quickly,” but said the question is “do we want to finish it off, or… do we just want to let it wither? Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria and Iraq, meanwhile said Friday that there could “absolutely” be a strike this weekend, ahead of Tuesday’s Israeli elections. Jason Campbell, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said there have “certainly been recent signs that renewed strikes may be in the offing,” or that “the US is expecting strikes carried out by Iran” or their Houthi allies in Yemen. Campbell also said Israeli warplanes recently carried out a “show of force” mimicking previous strikes on Iran, and noted that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel.
