Iranians brace for possible renewed war as Israeli and US elections near

Mixed · 2Many Iranians are bracing for a return to all-out war as Israeli and US leaders sharpen their threats ahead of elections in both countries, according to the Associated Press. 1 2 Right · 1Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a close vote on Tuesday, says Iran's leadership must be eliminated, while US President Donald Trump vows to "finish the job" eight months after the war began, as a third aircraft carrier and thousands of troops head to the region; some fear attacks just after the US midterms on Nov. 3. 1 Mixed · 2Tehran residents told AP of stockpiling and planning to leave: Fereshteh Hajipour, 35, a mother of a toddler, is stocking medicines and food for fear of a "possible war and bigger bombs", and gym trainer Hashem Vajdani, 45, has packed to move to a safer town in the north. 1 2

Mixed · 2Mohammad Abedi, 39, said rising attacks around the Strait of Hormuz led him to buy dried dates, cooking oil and rice; AP says this month has seen the most reported attacks on commercial ships in the strait since the war's opening weeks in March. 1 2 Mixed · 2Sasan Karimi, a University of Tehran foreign policy professor and former government official, said Iran's leadership believes Trump will likely order new strikes whatever the midterm result and is planning for those scenarios. 1 2 Mixed · 2Economic strain is severe: a US naval blockade of Iranian ports has restricted oil exports and caused medicine shortages, though AP saw no sign of food shortages; the currency is at record lows, rice is over 60 percent dearer and beef over 150 percent, and Mohammad Mohammadi, 36, said a supermarket trip can use half a mid-range monthly salary of 400 million rials (roughly $150). 1 2

Right · 1Iran has again threatened US bases and allies in the region and warned it could attack new targets, including undersea data cables through the Strait of Hormuz; officials accuse the US of fomenting unrest, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf calls economic warfare "the main axis of the war", and President Masoud Pezeshkian says Iran faces "a dangerous turning point". 1 Right · 1Talks via mediators have shown little progress for months; Trump rejected an Iranian proposal last month to end the war and fully open the Strait of Hormuz within a week if conditions such as lifting the blockade were met, and Pezeshkian has accused the US of disrupting negotiations. 1 Mixed · 2Karimi said economic pressure will not change Iran's negotiating position, while moderates such as Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani call for a deal with the US to salvage the economy; analyst Rahman Ghahremanpour said a Netanyahu win would raise the chance of all-out war resuming, though resident Rasool Ghanbari, 50, said neither election matters as hostility "remains unchanged". 1 2