Politico reports:

Iran’s renewed attacks against Arab countries are raising the stakes for regional powers, with some saying they are losing hope that there’s any way out of the war — and that things will get worse before the November elections.

The fear is that Iran is particularly motivated to increase strikes right now — ahead of the U.S. midterms — making a widening regional conflict more likely.

“Iran would like to prolong this status of controlled escalation and retaliation until the midterms,” one Arab diplomat said, arguing that the regime in Tehran has an opportunity to inflict political pain on President Donald Trump and his party.

The International Crisis Group’s Hamidreza Azizi, who maintains contacts with current and former Iranian diplomats, said the regime sees it as a way to force Trump’s hand at a moment of vulnerability, given rising oil prices and the unpopularity of the war with U.S. voters.

“If Iran wants to escalate it has to be in the next weeks, so Trump feels the pressure and wants to do something like going back to diplomacy,” he explained.

That’s led to a growing sense of despondency across the region, as countries brace for things to get worse.

“What is the endgame?” said the first Arab diplomat. “The military buildup is more than the diplomatic buildup. It seems to me we are going to see further escalation.”

A second Arab diplomat said Iran has, in a way, no choice but to increase strikes.

“It feels the economic pressure along with the major military strikes could make it lose its leverage,” the individual said. “So it’s trying to change the landscape in order to raise the pain.” [Continue reading…]