According to *The Atlantic*, the White House has asked the Pentagon to draft a plan for strikes on Iran that could be implemented before the November 3rd midterm elections. The decision on whether to proceed is still under discussion. High gas prices are dragging down Republican election prospects, and the White House hopes that military action could demonstrate progress, giving Trump a "win" to tout to voters. Election pressure is influencing the timing of military actions. Although Trump has publicly claimed not to worry about gas prices affecting the midterms, judging by current approval ratings, it’s hard for him to ignore the political pressure caused by high fuel costs. For voters, the extra money spent at the pump feels much more immediate than any military achievements announced by the White House. The discussion about moving up the timing of the strikes seems more like an attempt to create momentum in the final weeks before voting, giving Republicans some breathing room in the elections. Trump needs to convince voters that this war is nearing its end and that high gas prices are likely to drop as a result. The time left for him to deliver on these expectations is now less than a month. Today, both the U.S. stock market and Bitcoin are down, with a shared backdrop of market concerns over energy supply and interest rates. Shipping risks in the Strait of Hormuz are heating up again, pushing oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields higher during the day. This has reignited fears that inflation pressures may not ease, and high interest rates could stick around longer. One @Gate, trade more markets.