Iran war: Tehran won't wait for US midterms – Trump issues threat
Iran's armed forces chief says Tehran will not wait for the US midterms to respond to any new attack. Trump asks whether the US wants to win "the nice way or the not nice way".
Archive image · Photo: United States Navy U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Kaylianna Genier / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
The rhetoric in the Iran war is hardening. Iran's armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi said on Tuesday, according to CBS News, that Tehran has not waited, and will not wait, for the results of the US congressional elections to respond to any new attack. Iran also asked the UN Security Council to meet over threats from Washington to use the "Mother of All Bombs" if the war resumes after the 3 November vote. Security council secretary Mohsen Rezaei ruled out moving any enriched uranium out of the country.
US President Donald Trump said the US was doing "very well" in the war and asked: "Do we want to win the nice way or the not nice way?" Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed his unannounced visit to Israel. US troops were ready to act against Iran, he said, according to Iran International. The Jerusalem Post, citing a report, said the Pentagon was sending the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt to the Middle East; there was no official confirmation at first.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, according to Iran International, that the elimination of the Iranian regime must be completed and that this was the primary objective. Defence Minister Israel Katz said the army would not leave the security zone in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed throughout the country. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said efforts to isolate Iran economically were working and that oil loadings at Kharg Island had stopped. The State Department warned Americans in the region about Houthi attacks.