Washington: Top White House aides are pushing to keep the US war on Iran from escalating before November's midterm elections to staunch Republican electoral losses, according to four people familiar with the discussions, a strategy already under strain as the US and Iran exchanged back-and-forth attacks overnight.

White House officials will consider ramping up military action after the November 3 vote, Reuters reported, citing sources who requested anonymity. For now, the administration wants to rely on applying more economic pressure on Iran in an effort to extract concessions in any future negotiation that months of military action failed to secure. "We are keeping the pressure on Iran," one White House official said. "But November is a priority."

Keeping the war mostly contained until then would help prevent the unpopular conflict from dominating the news as Trump's Republicans campaign to defend thin majorities in the Senate and House. Only 31 percent of Americans approve of the war, according to a late August Reuters/Ipsos poll, with voters particularly unhappy about high gas prices. A tactical pause could also give the US military breathing room to replenish depleted munitions stockpiles.

However, the strategy appears increasingly difficult to maintain. Both sides have exchanged tit-for-tat strikes in recent days, with the US striking Iranian sites around the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday in the biggest outbreak of fighting since July. Iran, emboldened after months of disrupting traffic through the strait, will likely keep striking at US and allied Gulf targets, analysts said, potentially leading to an escalatory spiral that brings both sides back to full-scale war.

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