Source : BRICS NEWS
WASHINGTON D.C Oct 21, 2026 – White House has said the United States will not attack Iran before the US midterm elections on November 3, BRICS News reported in a post on X on Wednesday, October 21, restating a pledge President Donald Trump first made earlier this month as tensions with Tehran remain high.
The brief “just in” post from BRICS News said the White House would not strike Iran before the vote. The statement was attributed to White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly, who told Al Jazeera on Tuesday, October 20: “The United States will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the midterm elections.” The Financial Times also quoted the deputy press secretary as saying Washington would not launch any attack on Iran before the elections, according to CGTN.
Al Jazeera further reported that Israel had no plans to strike Iran before November 3, according to accounts of its report carried by Sputnik and RIA Novosti. Neither the White House nor the Israeli government gave any indication of what might follow after the vote.
The assurance echoes Mr Trump’s own words on October 8, when he wrote on Truth Social that the two sides were “having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran” and that “we will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd.” In the same post he said a US naval blockade of Iranian ports would “remain in full force and effect” and declared: “IRAN WILL NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!” The Associated Press reported that Mr Trump had hinted an endgame to the war could come in the days before or after the election, while remaining open to resuming full-scale military operations.
Mr Trump has since kept his options open in public. On October 13 he said he would decide on further steps towards Iran in the near future, according to Sputnik. The Washington Post noted that the president has acknowledged sometimes using public statements about negotiations and military planning to keep adversaries off guard.
Tehran, for its part, has signalled that it does not regard the US electoral calendar as a guarantee. On October 20, BRICS News reported that Iran said it would not wait for the midterm elections to respond to any new attacks. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Iranians “live day and night with the possibility of war” and that “the message received from the other side was insufficient and incomplete,” while Iranian officials told Reuters they expected that bombing would resume “sooner or later”.
The standoff has also played out at sea. On October 20 Iran said two oil tankers had caught fire after striking mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway through which a large share of the world’s seaborne oil passes. Shipping disruption and higher fuel prices have made the conflict a domestic political issue in the United States ahead of the vote, with polling showing majority disapproval of Mr Trump’s handling of the situation.
The United States and Israel began striking targets in Iran on February 28, prompting Iranian retaliation and a wider regional war. Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum on ending hostilities in mid-June but later exchanged fire again, and the conflict remains unresolved, RIA Novosti reported. Indirect talks have continued through intermediaries, with Iran insisting that Washington first lift its naval blockade and oil sanctions.
The November 3 midterms will decide the make-up of the House of Representatives and 35 seats in the Senate.
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