The White House put it in writing on Monday: the United States will not attack Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, no matter what is being claimed on the campaign trail in Israel.
Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly gave the statement by email after Reuters asked the White House to comment on remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had told voters on the eve of Israel's election that President Donald Trump was ready to act alongside him to remove the Iranian threat — but only if Netanyahu stays in power.
"The United States will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the midterm elections."
Kelly's statement carried the administration's wider position with it. "As President Trump stated, Iran is in very bad condition, both economically and militarily, and the blockade will remain in full force and effect, with oil flowing in record numbers of barrels through the Hormuz Strait," she said. The pressure on Tehran, in other words, continues — through the blockade, not through a new bombing campaign before Americans vote.
Netanyahu made his claim in a televised appearance late on Sunday night, one day before Israelis go to the polls. "US President Donald Trump has come with a friendship that has never existed before between an Israeli prime minister and an American president. And it is doubtful we will ever have such a friendly president again," he said. "He has another two years, and he says he is calling on you to vote for me."
He said Trump was willing to take action "that would finally, finally, remove the Iranian threat," but only as long as Netanyahu himself remains in power, and he added: "And I have already instructed the Mossad and the IDF to bring down this regime, to bring down this regime because that is the only way to put an end to this threat."
Trump's own words on Sunday were an endorsement, not a war promise. In a social media post, the president who launched the Iran war jointly with Netanyahu in February wrote: "Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started!"
The White House statement also settles a question that had been left hanging earlier on Monday, when the White House declined to comment on a CNN report that American forces could be ready to launch within 96 hours of an order. Kelly's email is the administration's first on-record answer, and it rules the timing out.
Netanyahu's leading opponent, the centrist former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, answered the endorsement by praising Trump as "a true friend of Israel." "I value his efforts and his commitment to Israel's security, and I am confident that he will work in full cooperation with any leader chosen by the people," Eisenkot said. He accused Netanyahu of "relying on a campaign of fear-mongering, lies and threats — including images of nuclear bombs in the heart of Tel Aviv. This time, it won't work for him." Netanyahu had posted a computer-generated photo of a mushroom cloud over Tel Aviv on Sunday, and on Monday shared an AI-generated video mocking Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
Tuesday's vote is Israel's first since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, and the first chance for Israeli voters to deliver a verdict on the wars that followed. In the United States, the Iran war is deeply unpopular and is blamed for a surge in prices, especially fuel, and major fighting has been suspended for months after ceasefire negotiations that were held without Israeli participation. Kelly's line draws the boundary for Washington: whatever is said in Israel's campaign, there will be no American attack on Iran before November 3 — and the blockade stays in full force.