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Senior officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration have been divided for months over the war with Iran, with Vice President JD Vance privately criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and warning that the conflict could cost Republicans control of Congress, according to US media reports cited by Anadolu Agency.
Vance privately accused Netanyahu of “being wrong on everything” about Iran and repeatedly urged Trump to negotiate an end to the conflict, Axios reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the discussions. Vance also warned that the war was deeply unpopular among American voters and could lead to Republican defeats in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported that tensions had grown over whether to continue military operations against Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth favored continuing the campaign, while Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior officials advocated diplomatic negotiations.
The disagreements came into sharper focus after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday’s elections. Vance publicly blamed the war for the Republican Party’s defeat.
Officials discussed political impact of military strikes
Senior administration officials met in the White House Situation Room in September to discuss the political consequences of the Iran war, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Those at the meeting, including Vance and Rubio, raised concerns that publicly acknowledging continued US military strikes could hurt Republican candidates in competitive races. Officials later briefed Trump, who agreed that publicizing the operations would not help the party’s electoral prospects, the newspaper reported.
US forces later carried out limited defensive strikes against Iranian missile launchers and other military equipment without publicly emphasizing the operations, according to the Journal.
The newspaper also reported that some White House advisers blamed Hegseth for persuading Trump that the conflict would be a relatively short military engagement. Trump has publicly defended the defense secretary and indicated that he does not intend to remove him.
Netanyahu pressed for renewed strikes, reports say
Netanyahu urged Trump to resume military strikes against Iran before the midterm elections, despite warnings from senior US officials about the political consequences, Axios reported. Trump considered renewed strikes but decided to wait until after the elections, according to the report.
Most senior officials around Trump shared Vance’s preference for reaching an agreement with Tehran, Axios said, although the president remained inclined toward renewed military action. The report also said Trump endorsed Netanyahu in Israel’s recent election despite advice from senior administration members against doing so.
The Pentagon has continued preparations for a possible resumption of major combat operations against Iran, including the deployment of additional military assets to the Middle East. The Wall Street Journal reported that another aircraft carrier strike group and a Marine expeditionary unit were moving toward the region, potentially adding thousands of US personnel.
On Wednesday, Vance directly linked the Republicans’ electoral losses to the administration’s Iran policy. “The reason we lost is the war,” he wrote on social media.
According to The Washington Post, Vance said Republican voters who supported Trump in 2024 had turned against the party because of the war, rising living costs and dissatisfaction with the administration’s foreign policy. He identified four concerns among disillusioned Republican voters: ending the Iran war, addressing inflation and living costs, restoring the administration’s America First priorities, and changing Washington’s relationship with Israel.
“Our voters showed up,” Vance wrote, arguing that many nevertheless voted for Democratic candidates.
The Washington Post described Vance’s remarks as a significant departure from Trump’s initial response to the election, when the president and his advisers sought to blame Republican candidates for the defeat.
Trump later acknowledged that the conflict had contributed to the electoral losses, particularly by increasing gasoline prices. Asked about Vance’s assessment on Wednesday, Trump told reporters: “I think it’s largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit short term.”
He nevertheless defended launching the military campaign, saying it remained essential to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Trump also said he knew Vance’s position on the conflict and spoke positively about the vice president’s remarks.
Trump weighs military and diplomatic options
The election defeat has intensified discussions within the administration about how to proceed. Trump faces three principal options, Axios reported: resuming major military strikes, negotiating an agreement with Tehran, or maintaining the naval blockade and economic sanctions while seeking further Iranian concessions.
Qatari mediators were working on a draft agreement intended to prevent renewed fighting and potentially facilitate direct US-Iranian negotiations, according to Axios.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other advisers reportedly favored giving the existing blockade and economic pressure campaign more time to produce results. Other officials advocated renewed military strikes followed by negotiations, while some urged Trump to wind down the campaign, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Washington Post reported that Vance’s public criticism also highlighted the political challenges facing the vice president, who is widely viewed as a potential Republican presidential contender in 2028.
The divisions leave Trump facing competing military, diplomatic and domestic political pressures as Democrats prepare to assume control of Congress in January.
