Iran Highlights Cost of War to U.S. Public Ahead of Midterms
Iranian officials are addressing the American public directly about gasoline prices and strains on the United States economy ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.
The messages focus on the cost of the war against Iran that Tehran says was launched by the United States and Israel. Iranian officials have published articles in state-affiliated outlets stressing the war's effect on oil prices and the U.S. economy, according to reporting by Al Jazeera.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has been among the most visible voices. He has criticized U.S. officials over rising consumer costs and military spending, sharing a news report that U.S. inflation rose to 3.7 percent last month alongside a collage of negative headlines about the economy.
In a message addressed to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Ghalibaf wrote: "Let's 'play the percentages'. Not in odds, but in the % increases." Bessent has been leading the sanctions campaign against Iran, the U.S. effort to pressure Tehran through trade and financial restrictions. Last month, Bessent said he represents "the house," likening the economy to a casino while speaking about the national debt and bond market.
Ghalibaf's posts have used striking visuals. One featured a Road Runner cartoon strip showing Wile E. Coyote building a catapult that misfires and launches a boulder back at him. Another shared an image of a bell-curve-shaped ghost showing diesel prices rising while housing affordability and consumer confidence fell.
Sina Toossi, a senior non-resident fellow at the Center for International Policy, told Al Jazeera that Tehran is seeking to increase the political cost of the war for Trump by talking directly to the American public.
The economic backdrop is central to that messaging. Since the start of the war on February 28, Iran has disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. According to AAA, the national average price for regular gasoline hit $4.33 in mid-October 2026, up $1.35 from the start of the Iran war, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Traders are now betting that oil prices will remain elevated through 2028 as the war continues, expectations that are forcing a rethink of the global inflation outlook, according to Reuters. As gasoline prices rose in the U.S., President Donald Trump blamed Ukraine and Democrats, Reuters reported. Iraq, meanwhile, has lost around $60 billion in oil export revenue during the U.S.-Iran war, according to CBS News.
