Iran War 2.0? Trump Free to Strike After Midterms

US President Donald Trump may restart a war with Iran once the midterm elections end, a move that could spark a new disaster in the Middle East. With the elections over, Trump will be free to pursue revenge politics. But strong diplomacy can still stop him. The question now is how to prevent another Iran catastrophe before it is too late. Whatever the results of Israel's election and next week's US midterm polls, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appear determined to resume the illegal war they began in June last year and expanded in February. Like a Shakespearean tragedy moving toward a bloody end, the worst is yet to come. Three things seem certain. The US and Israel will again fail to fully destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities, which are largely hypothetical. Iran's government will survive. And millions of ordinary people in Iran and around the world will pay the price for this unjustified and reckless aggression. Trump is desperate to avoid blame for the Republicans' expected midterm losses, largely caused by war-related fuel and consumer price inflation. He claimed Ukraine's attacks on Russian refineries were responsible, but that did not convince voters. He made a treacherous diesel deal with Vladimir Putin, but Russia's "smirking mafioso" tricked him as usual. He urged US allies to tap their strategic reserves, but vilified and sidelined European leaders, who see his war as a disaster and refused to help. Trump also reportedly rejected last-minute pressure from Netanyahu to hit Iran this month, fearing it would unleash a Democratic tsunami. Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator.