President Donald Trump's new approach to Iran mirrors his old one: sanctions and financial isolation. According to Jonathan Lemire and Nancy A. Youssef, writing for The Atlantic, Republicans believe they can push the conflict out of voters' minds until the election has passed.

"In some ways, it's not an original idea," the writers explained. "Trump has relied on an economic 'maximum pressure' campaign since his first term to try to force Iran to abandon its nuclear program. But the intelligence community was mistaken in its belief that Iran would buckle quickly under the financial strain." That earlier campaign, begun after Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in 2018, was intended to drive Iran's oil exports toward zero. Instead, Iranian crude kept flowing, much of it sold at a discount to Chinese buyers — the same gap in enforcement that now shadows the renewed effort.

The report described the situation as leaving "few options remaining," and cautioned that the effort could be a "lengthy" one. Enforcement poses its own difficulty if Trump declines to press sanctions on Iran's biggest buyers, such as China and Russia. Asked about the sanctions this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent refused to say whether Trump would pressure China to agree to impose sanctions on Iran.

The Atlantic column argued that this is the only way Trump can make it appear as if they're "trying something and then — importantly — to stop talking about the war."

Trump advisors and allies told the reporters that the second part of the plan is to hope that gas prices come down, even if only a little, allowing the GOP to pivot away from the affordability crisis.

"We're just trying to hang on until the midterms," said a Trump adviser.

"Republicans have been urging the White House to wrap up the conflict and reduce its drag on the nation's economy — and their reelection chances. But a solution has proved elusive," the report said. The anxiety reflects a durable pattern of American politics: the party holding the White House has lost congressional seats in nearly every modern midterm election, putting the economic mood in November 2026 at the center of Republican calculations.

Trump's overall goal, according to the reporting, is to make it through the election and get Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, after which he is inclined to declare victory and move on to target Cuba. "Trump has been bored of the war for a while," the reporters explained. The strait is one of the world's most important oil chokepoints, a waterway that normally carries roughly a fifth of globally traded crude — which is why its reopening matters well beyond the Gulf.

His staff has pressed him to talk about the economic crisis in an effort to "help Republican candidates, but he has continued to downplay the nation's affordability challenges, much to his aides' chagrin."

The report noted that Republicans need the new sanctions effort to bring Iran back to the table before November, "then maybe a renewed stab at diplomacy could juice the markets — and provide an 11th-hour boost for Republicans."

Iran, however, is well aware that Trump is in trouble over the 2026 elections. The Guardian's diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour reported earlier in August that Iran intends to keep Trump entangled through the November election.