Trump May Pivot To All-Out War With Iran After Midterms: Parsi — SkimNews
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- Donald Trump might consider an all-out war with Iran once midterm elections are over, after limited war, diplomacy, and economic coercion failed to achieve his stated objectives, Trita Parsi said.
- Trita Parsi, executive vice-president of the Washington-based Quincy Institute, made the assessment on The Hindu's "The View from India" podcast, published October 15, 2026.
- Iran wants a "new, uncontested order" in the Persian Gulf and appears prepared to fight a long battle, according to Parsi.
- Parsi framed Trump's calculus as having tried every option short of full-scale war first, leaving the largest military escalation as the untested fallback once political constraints from the midterms lift.
Why it matters: Parsi, a prominent voice skeptical of U.S. military adventurism, is publicly floating the possibility that the administration could pivot from its current 'limited war + sanctions' track to full-scale conflict once midterm politics recede — a shift that would dramatically expand risk for U.S. forces, regional shipping, and the global energy market tied to the Persian Gulf.
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