The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Vice President JD Vance sent a letter to a key Iranian official asking to restart peace talks. That letter, which was approved by President Donald Trump, appears to be a last-minute effort to reach out to the regime before a military offensive kicks off within days or weeks after Election Day.
The correspondence was sent to Mohsen Rezaei, who a former IRGC leader who now leads the Supreme National Security Council. The U.S. used Qatar as a mediator to get the letter to Rezaei.
On his 20-state midterm tour, Trump has been typically blunt about his plans to attack Iran again, but he has told the news media it would not happen before the midterm elections.
Military analyst Robert Maginnis told American Family News it’s wise of the White House to “test diplomacy” even if it proves to be unfruitful. The reason for that, he said, is more war is coming to the Middle East.
“I do believe he is preparing to attack, likely as early as Wednesday,” Maginnis told AFN.
Maginnis pointed out two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, USS George Washington and the USS George H.W. Bush, are currently operating in the Arabian Sea.
A third carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, is on its way to the Middle East, too. It is expected to relieve the USS George Washington when it arrives in mid-November, but what has caught the attention of many is that new carrier strike group is carrying approximately 4,000 U.S. Marines.
A planned attack on Iran has been complicated by last week’s elections in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been reportedly pressing Trump to attack, has watched his political power get blunted by the results. Israeli elections gave seats in the Knesset to a main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, as well as to Arab parties.
In a Nov. 1 story, The Jerusalem Post reported the IDF is prepared to strike Iran alongside the United States, but the story describes disagreements within the White House stretching back to the summer.
The Jerusalem Post story also reports the war is unpopular in the United States, and Republicans are concerned about voter backlash.
Maginnis agrees the midterms are having an effect on a fresh round of military attacks, because Iran’s leaders can read election polls, too. They also know Republicans could lose control of Congress.
“Then perhaps they'll feel good about themselves,” he said of Iran's regime. "Because maybe they contributed to making things more difficult in Washington to sustain the war.”
