Now or Never: Why Trump and Netanyahu Are Racing the Same Clock on Iran

Following the US midterm elections of 3 November 2026 and Israel's inconclusive election of 27 October 2026, this commentary examines why both Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu may perceive the weeks before January 2027 as a closing window for decisive military action against Iran. Drawing on reporting by CNBC, Al Jazeera, Reuters, the Associated Press and Trump's interview with The Wall Street Journal, it argues that a lame-duck president facing a Democratic Congress with control over war funding, and a caretaker prime minister without a governing majority but retaining war-making powers, share a common incentive structure that can be described as "now or never". The piece weighs this reading against counterarguments, including the war's domestic political costs, active Qatari mediation and the possibility that limited strikes serve as coercive bargaining, and considers the implications for Gulf states.