Officials: Iran is prolonging the negotiations to weaken Trump before the elections

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Senior officials said that Iran is deliberately prolonging negotiations with the United States in an attempt to weaken US President Donald Trump politically before the midterm congressional elections scheduled for November 3, while Tehran’s reluctance to reach a quick agreement to end the war has increased due to fears of renewed military operations and severe lack of confidence in Washington.

Three senior Iranian officials and an Iranian source said that Tehran is convinced that the US President is ready to launch new attacks in an attempt to break the stalemate in the war that has been ongoing for eight months.

One of the officials continued, saying, "Iran is preparing for new Israeli and American attacks, not to reach an agreement with America to end the war."

He added, "The religious establishment is determined not to give Trump a political victory."

Iranian analyst Saeed Laylaz said that his country is “influencing the American elections without taking any illegal action,” by prolonging the negotiations.

The war launched by the United States and its ally Israel against Iran on February 28 contributed to pushing Trump's popularity to its lowest level. Opinion polls indicate that Americans, who are concerned about rising gasoline prices, will punish the Republican Party in the congressional elections.

Trump has repeatedly said he expects oil prices to fall after the election, but he has not presented a detailed plan to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, an important passage for global energy shipping that Iran has effectively closed since the war began.

Iranian attacks, both actual and threatened, have greatly reduced ship traffic through the Strait, while a naval blockade and trade sanctions imposed by the United States have cut off Iran's oil export revenues and exacerbated economic problems at home.

The officials said the chances of a breakthrough before the elections are slim, because Iran believes it could benefit Trump politically if it makes concessions.

Under pressure from Israel, Washington wants to put Iran's nuclear program on the negotiating table from the beginning. This program has continued for decades, and Iran says it is for purely peaceful purposes, while Western powers claim that it has military dimensions.

For its part, Tehran insists that its conditions under the "seven-day plan" must be met before the start of nuclear negotiations. It does not show any willingness to give up the influence it gained over the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the conflict.

Tehran, through Qatar, which plays a mediating role, has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, albeit under Iranian control, on the condition that Washington lifts the naval blockade, eases restrictions on Iranian oil exports, releases frozen assets, and ends hostilities on all fronts.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday that the offer was still on the table, with messages being exchanged through intermediaries.

An Iranian official said that Tehran's view that Washington cannot be trusted to adhere to diplomacy stems from attacks on Iran that led to the failure of previous negotiations.

In June 2025, an Israeli attack scuppered plans to hold a sixth round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran in the Sultanate of Oman.

Last February, the United States and Israel launched war immediately after the end of another round of talks, at a time when more technical discussions were scheduled to take place.

Maintaining a situation between war and peace during the US midterm congressional elections period allows Iran to maintain pressure on Washington while reaffirming its commitment to diplomacy.

Trump stated that the United States will not bomb Iran again before November 3. However, officials said Tehran still expects the bombing to resume, sooner or later.

Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said Iran's clerical establishment clearly wants to hurt Trump politically.

He added, "But the main issue is that Tehran believes that Trump is interested in regime change and is following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policy aimed at overthrowing the ruling establishment in Iran."

Three Israeli officials reported that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth discussed the Iran issue with Netanyahu yesterday, Monday, during a visit to Israel that was not announced in advance, which came a week before the elections in which Netanyahu faces the risk of losing power.

Iran bears the cost resulting from the strategy of keeping the negotiations going without rushing to reach an agreement.

The prolonged uncertainty is burdening Iran's already ailing economy and sapping the people's patience. Thousands were killed at the beginning of the year when Iranian security forces took strict measures against anti-government protests that escalated rapidly.

The Iranian Statistical Center reported that the annual inflation rate reached 73.6 percent in September, and the value of the Iranian rial has fallen by about 35 percent against the dollar since Washington re-imposed its naval blockade in July.

Iran's exports of crude oil across the sea fell to zero in the second week of September, after their 14-day average was 230,000 barrels per day at the beginning of the month, and remained at this level until October 5, according to the Vortexa platform, which specializes in energy information.

But the Iranian leadership's mistrust of Washington goes beyond the current conflict to include existential concerns. Laylaz said Iran believes the United States has repeatedly violated the agreements even as Tehran has fulfilled its obligations, leaving little confidence that any comprehensive agreement will hold.

“It is no longer possible to reach a viable agreement with the United States, even after the end of Trump’s term, due to the worsening mistrust... Nothing will return to the situation that existed before the war,” Leilaz said.