Is Trump Postponing the Final Decision Until the Elections?

Does Trump really want to end the war with Iran, or does he want to postpone the reckoning until after the elections?

This is the question lurking behind the wordplay in Washington. Trump repeatedly claims that Iran has been weakened, that victory is near, that an agreement is possible, and that the war will end. The phrasing changes, but the outcome remains the same: the decisive moment is delayed, and the elections are approaching.

Trump understands that American voters do not live through the details of war rooms and negotiations; rather, they experience the war through headlines. Consequently, statements become political weapons—threats, then negotiations, then escalation, followed by talk of an imminent end, and then a new deadline. In this way, rhetoric becomes a means of buying time and keeping alive the image of a president capable of controlling the situation, until a result emerges that can be presented to voters as a victory.

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The Iranian regime does not read Trump’s statements as final facts, but instead asks what lies behind them: How much can the American president bear the cost of war? How long can he wait before the confrontation becomes an electoral burden?

Here, time may become an Iranian weapon. Each additional day of war means higher costs, and every rise in energy prices amplifies domestic pressure. Meanwhile, every promise of an imminent end that goes unfulfilled erodes the administration’s political capital.

Trump wants to reach the elections carrying a narrative of victory, while Iran may be betting that the war will reach the elections carrying the bill. Thus, the battle is not merely military; it is a race between Trump and the clock.

The president may repeat the word “victory” dozens of times, but repetition does not bring an end to the war. At some point, voters will stop asking Trump, “What will you do?” and will instead pose the harder question: “What have you achieved?”

At that point, words will no longer suffice. Elections may precede victory, but the bill cannot be delayed.

$ Saudi writer