With the Iran war now at a costly standoff and crises from Ukraine to Gaza still unresolved, President Donald Trump's ambitious foreign policy agenda appears stuck as he heads into November's midterm elections.The setbacks are striking for a president who returned to office last year promising to be a "peacemaker" and made resolving international conflicts a centerpiece of his second-term agenda.
Trump has grown impatient with reporters' questions and even US allies. This week, he lashed out at reporters pressing him on foreign policy issues and renewed his threat to bomb Oman, a US ally negotiating with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Labor Day, on Sept. 7 this year, is traditionally when election campaigns kick into high gear, and Republicans face the prospect that unresolved conflicts abroad and their economic fallout at home could cost the party its hold on Congress.
Iran stalemate takes political toll
Trump has called off talks with Tehran after pushing for weeks for a diplomatic solution and announced on Wednesday a new campaign of "economic warfare" against the Islamic Republic in an apparent acknowledgment that months of military attacks have not forced the concessions the US wants to see.
