The midterm elections do not currently promise good prospects for the U.S. president. Artak Zakaryan

18-07-2026 11:27 Armenia A comment

Member of the Republican Party Council, former Deputy Minister of Defense Artak Zakaryan wrote on his Facebook page .

«If President Trump thought that a ceasefire agreement with Iran would allow him to comfortably conduct the midterm elections in the US (Congress, Senate), then he seems to have been mistaken. Iran was ready to agree to that ceasefire with the intention of receiving substantial financial resources, the unfreezing of frozen assets, and the lifting of sanctions. This was evident from both the statements coming from Iran and the text of the signed agreement.»

The expectations of the parties did not materialize, as apparently, Donald Trump in his initial calculations wanted to completely pressure the Islamic Republic of Iran when after the midterm elections his «hands would be completely free» (for example, at the end of November or in December).

Judging by the materials from the American press, the midterm elections do not currently promise good prospects for the US president. And the Iranians, apparently, intend to complicate the situation for the Trump administration as much as possible.

For this reason, it seems that the White House's plans are being reconsidered, and the resumption of military operations has occurred sooner than expected after the signing of the agreement.

With the signing of the agreement, Trump and his team showed the world that they had made great efforts to at least keep this war in a ceasefire mode, even if they did not finish it.

After that, global oil prices stabilized, many ships stuck in the Persian Gulf were able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and the external and internal pressures on Washington decreased.

The current situation suggests that if military operations resume in full scale and with high intensity, it will no longer be a continuation of the previous war, but rather operations conducted with entirely new objectives and new strategic resources.

American analysts speculate that the administration may want to start a guaranteed victorious war shortly before the midterm elections («they didn’t want to, but we were forced to») in an attempt to improve its electoral positions. This helped President George W. Bush Jr. in the past.

However, the situation in Iran is completely different. Not everything there goes as planned and drawn out. Despite the enormous damage it has suffered, Iran is defending itself quite effectively on both diplomatic and military fronts.

In the first half of 2022, many believed that Russia would quickly resolve the issues it faced in the Ukrainian direction. This did not happen, and to this day it is unclear how long the Russian-Ukrainian war will last and what kind of escalation it will have.

The same situation applies to the US-Iran military conflict. No matter how much they strive to find quick solutions, the conflict is likely to turn into a protracted, exhausting war for both parties.»

* This text was automatically translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Noyan Tapan | A comment