report<\/a><\/span> by the Financial Times citing sources familiar with the matter.<\/p>\nThe list of targets included nuclear facilities and locations associated with the Iranian leadership, along with power stations and other civilian infrastructure sites.<\/p>\n
The planned strikes were projected to exceed the joint operation launched by the US and Israel in February in terms of intensity.<\/p>\n
White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told the newspaper: “The United States is not going to strike Iran at any point before the midterms.”<\/p>\n
Kelly argued that the administration in Tehran was in distress both economically and militarily, adding that the blockade imposed on Iranian ports and US efforts to secure oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz were producing results.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the newspaper, one source addressed the possibility of strikes resuming in the coming weeks, saying: “There’s either going to be a deal or a strike.”<\/p>\n
The same source reported that Washington aims for a comprehensive settlement that resolves the conflict over both the Strait of Hormuz and the nuclear programme, although it remained unclear whether the US would have participated directly in the cancelled operation.<\/p>\n
Another source said the preparations for the operation might have served as leverage to pressure Tehran in negotiations, adding that the final decision on any new military step rests with the US president.<\/p>\n
Hegseth reviews updated target list in Israel<\/strong><\/p>\nAn Israeli official said US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited Israel on 19 October to meet with Netanyahu and senior representatives.<\/p>\n
Another source stated that the Israeli side presented an updated target list to its American counterparts, compiled with fresh intelligence and incorporating civilian infrastructure sites that had not been struck earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The Pentagon did not respond to questions regarding the meetings, while Netanyahu’s office and the Israeli military declined to comment.<\/p>\n
Despite the postponement of the operation, Trump and Netanyahu continued to issue military warnings to Iran in public.<\/p>\n
In a video released on 19 October, Netanyahu addressed Trump, saying: “Donald, you said we need to finish this, and we will finish it together.” Speaking on speakerphone, Trump responded: “You’re a great warrior, and we’re going to prove it very soon.”<\/p>\n
These engagements between the leaders coincide with critical election cycles in both countries.<\/p>\n
Parliamentary elections in Israel are scheduled for 27 October, one week before the vote in the US.<\/p>\n
Most public opinion polls in the country show the opposition bloc holding a narrow lead over Netanyahu’s coalition, though neither side commands a clear majority.<\/p>\n
Axios, a US-based news outlet, previously reported that the Pentagon instructed military planners to finalize strike plans against Iran, though the directive specified no date and Trump had not reached a final decision.<\/p>\n
On 15 October, CNN reported on plans to use the GBU-43\/B munition, known as the “mother of all bombs”, against Iranian nuclear facilities, with US officials who spoke to the broadcaster expressing scepticism about the weapon’s ability to destroy deep bunkers.<\/p>\n
While Tehran announced that it remains open to a diplomatic solution, it declared that any potential operation would draw a fierce response.<\/p>\n
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stressed that if its adversaries chose military conflict, the response would be “much harsher than before”.<\/p>\n
Following the joint operation launched by the US and Israel on 28 February, Iran retaliated by striking targets across the region and restricting maritime passage through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
Although the parties reached an agreement in June covering a ceasefire and negotiations to lift the blockade in the strait, reciprocal strikes between the US and Iran have not ceased.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A comprehensive military operation planned by the Israeli military for 10 October did not take place because US President Donald Trump chose to avoid a broad conflict before the 3 November congressional midterm elections. Preparations had been made on the orders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for an aerial bombardment meant to last several days, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17041,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4035,2166,14952,1138,3786,15055,319,22660,288,812,20391,11843,13457,10913,9478,823,3667,10763,919,821,321,2325],"class_list":["post-17040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","tag-abbas-araghchi","tag-airstrikes","tag-anna-kelly","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-ceasefire-negotiations","tag-civilian-infrastructure","tag-donald-trump","tag-gbu-43-b","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-israeli-elections","tag-midterm-elections","tag-naval-blockade","tag-nuclear-facilities","tag-oil-shipments","tag-pentagon","tag-pete-hegseth","tag-strait-of-hormuz","tag-tehran","tag-us","tag-washington","tag-white-house"],"yoast_head":"\n
Trump midterms calculus halts Israeli strike plan against Iran - Harici<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A planned Israeli strike on Iran was shelved after Donald Trump moved to avoid a wider conflict before the US midterm elections.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump midterms calculus halts Israeli strike plan against Iran - Harici\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A planned Israeli strike on Iran was shelved after Donald Trump moved to avoid a wider conflict before the US midterm elections.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Harici\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/haricitr\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-21T11:47:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Iran.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Harici.com.tr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@haricitr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@haricitr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Harici.com.tr\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Harici.com.tr\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/45047d1e0be7e8c266daed68de2cf7aa\"},\"headline\":\"Trump midterms calculus halts Israeli strike plan against Iran\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-21T11:47:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/\"},\"wordCount\":659,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Iran.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Abbas Araghchi\",\"airstrikes\",\"Anna Kelly\",\"Benjamin Netanyahu\",\"ceasefire negotiations\",\"civilian infrastructure\",\"Donald Trump\",\"GBU-43\/B\",\"\u0130ran\",\"Israel\",\"Israeli elections\",\"midterm elections\",\"naval blockade\",\"nuclear facilities\",\"oil shipments\",\"Pentagon\",\"Pete Hegseth\",\"Strait of Hormuz\",\"Tehran\",\"US\",\"Washington\",\"White House\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Europe\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/\",\"name\":\"Trump midterms calculus halts Israeli strike plan against Iran - Harici\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Iran.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-21T11:47:13+00:00\",\"description\":\"A planned Israeli strike on Iran was shelved after Donald Trump moved to avoid a wider conflict before the US midterm elections.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Iran.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Iran.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trump midterms calculus halts Israeli strike plan against Iran\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Harici\",\"description\":\"Tracing The Changing World\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Harici\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/harici_admin_logo_compress.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/harici_admin_logo_compress.webp\",\"width\":280,\"height\":286,\"caption\":\"Harici\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/haricitr\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/haricitr\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/45047d1e0be7e8c266daed68de2cf7aa\",\"name\":\"Harici.com.tr\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ede4c0daa2de13cfbd3201e07844b7a0e9c17ad41edea7a38546f494810d8cc8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ede4c0daa2de13cfbd3201e07844b7a0e9c17ad41edea7a38546f494810d8cc8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Harici.com.tr\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/harici.com.tr\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/author\/hariciadmin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump midterms calculus halts Israeli strike plan against Iran - Harici","description":"A planned Israeli strike on Iran was shelved after Donald Trump moved to avoid a wider conflict before the US midterm elections.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trump midterms calculus halts Israeli strike plan against Iran - Harici","og_description":"A planned Israeli strike on Iran was shelved after Donald Trump moved to avoid a wider conflict before the US midterm elections.","og_url":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/","og_site_name":"Harici","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/haricitr","article_published_time":"2026-10-21T11:47:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Iran.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Harici.com.tr","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@haricitr","twitter_site":"@haricitr","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Harici.com.tr","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/"},"author":{"name":"Harici.com.tr","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/45047d1e0be7e8c266daed68de2cf7aa"},"headline":"Trump midterms calculus halts Israeli strike plan against Iran","datePublished":"2026-10-21T11:47:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/"},"wordCount":659,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Iran.jpg","keywords":["Abbas Araghchi","airstrikes","Anna Kelly","Benjamin Netanyahu","ceasefire negotiations","civilian infrastructure","Donald Trump","GBU-43\/B","\u0130ran","Israel","Israeli elections","midterm elections","naval blockade","nuclear facilities","oil shipments","Pentagon","Pete Hegseth","Strait of Hormuz","Tehran","US","Washington","White House"],"articleSection":["Europe"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/","url":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/","name":"Trump midterms calculus halts Israeli strike plan against Iran - Harici","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Iran.jpg","datePublished":"2026-10-21T11:47:13+00:00","description":"A planned Israeli strike on Iran was shelved after Donald Trump moved to avoid a wider conflict before the US midterm elections.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Iran.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Iran.jpg","width":1200,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/trump-midterms-calculus-halts-israeli-strike-plan-against-iran\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trump midterms calculus halts Israeli strike plan against Iran"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/","name":"Harici","description":"Tracing The Changing World","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#organization","name":"Harici","url":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/harici_admin_logo_compress.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/harici_admin_logo_compress.webp","width":280,"height":286,"caption":"Harici"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/haricitr","https:\/\/x.com\/haricitr"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/45047d1e0be7e8c266daed68de2cf7aa","name":"Harici.com.tr","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ede4c0daa2de13cfbd3201e07844b7a0e9c17ad41edea7a38546f494810d8cc8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ede4c0daa2de13cfbd3201e07844b7a0e9c17ad41edea7a38546f494810d8cc8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Harici.com.tr"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/harici.com.tr"],"url":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/author\/hariciadmin\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17040"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17042,"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17040\/revisions\/17042"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}