Defiant Iran seeks to bruise Trump ahead of midterms

AI Summary

Iran is escalating confrontations against the United States with the aim of increasing political pressure ahead of the US midterm elections. Analysts note that Iran risks a full return to active conflict rather than pursuing diplomacy, following significant tensions since early 2022.

Iran is intensifying confrontational actions against the United States in the hope of further raising the cost of the conflict for President Donald Trump less than two months ahead of the US midterm elections, analysts say. Over half a year after the war erupted on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei, Iran is upping the ante, even risking a return to all-out fighting, rather than dialling down and looking into diplomacy.