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.
Washington and Tehran’s forces have settled into a pattern of strikes on commercial ships, with the United States seeking to enforce a blockade of Iran’s ports and the Islamic republic trying to exert control over the key Strait of Hormuz waterway.
Neither country has engaged in major attacks on land-based targets since early September, but that may soon change.
“I’m banking now on the likelihood of strikes shortly after the midterms,” said Suzanne Maloney, director of the foreign policy programme at the Brookings Institution, referring to November 3 elections in the United States.
She pointed to potential signs including the movement of additional US military assets and troops to the Middle East, warnings issued to Americans in the region, and a high alert status for Israeli forces.
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.
The US-Israeli war against Iran – launched in late February – is largely unpopular in the United States, especially because it has sharply driven up fuel prices, and is likely to be a drag on Trump’s Republican Party in the key vote.
“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.
l Saudi Civil Defence announced yesterday that shrapnel had fallen in Mecca and Medina regions following the interception of two ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the two regions.
The interception resulted in debris from the two missiles falling in Wadi Al Maghamis in Mecca, while shrapnel from the interception fell in Al Nuzha district in Jeddah, Wadi Jalil in Taif and Masturah in Rabigh governorate.
The relevant procedures approved for such incidents were carried out.
Earlier yesterday, coalition spokesperson Turki Al Maliki announced on X that two ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the cities of Taif and Yanbu had been intercepted and destroyed.
Saudi Civil Defence also issued a warning yesterday alerting residents of Jeddah, Taif, Yanbu and Mecca Region to a potential danger. The warning was lifted a few minutes later, while attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi militia against the kingdom have been continuing since the beginning of the month.
Saudi Civil Defence urged residents to remain calm and stay indoors.
It also reminded the public that ‘photographing, publishing or circulating information related to the interception of missiles and drones, or the locations where they fall, may expose those responsible to legal accountability’.
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