One hand is writing letters. The other is moving a carrier.

Election Day is Tuesday. Here is what the reporting says is lined up for the days after it.

What the Gulf was told

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the U.S. has told several Gulf Arab countries to prepare for a “short, intense military campaign” against Iran after the November 3 midterms. The messages went out through diplomatic and military channels, according to people briefed on them.

The Journal also reported that the military is moving a Patriot missile defense system from Texas to the region and pulling troops out of vulnerable bases. It says forces are restocking munitions and getting bombers and fighters ready. An extra carrier strike group and a Marine unit are expected to join roughly 20 U.S. warships there next month.

Trump has not made a final decision, the report says, but is leaning toward a “large postelection attack” that could hit Iranian infrastructure and nuclear sites. The White House declined to discuss “sensitive military plans that may or may not exist.”

Then there is Trump himself. At a Texas rally Tuesday he said: “You’ll see Iran in a couple of weeks, if you don’t mind.” The report notes he has said he would not attack Iran before the midterms.

On Wednesday the Navy’s regional command told ships with no need to be near Hormuz or the Gulf of Oman to stay well clear.

The other track, in brief

Qatar carried a new draft deal to Tehran. An Iranian official called it “unacceptable ideas and not an offer.” Vice President Vance reportedly wrote to a senior Iranian official. Trump says he did not order talks and that it was about medical supplies.

The bill

The Washington Examiner puts the cost of this war at $47 billion, eight months in. It says polling shows the war is unpopular, and that Vance has conceded his role in the White House is to keep questioning the rationale for it. Bloomberg says voters are unhappy with the cost of living and the handling of the war, which it says has spiked gas prices.

Reuters had oil above $115 a barrel on Wednesday.

What it means at your kitchen table

The week after Election Day is also when other fuel news lands. Russian diesel tankers are due on the East Coast November 7 through 11. Midwest gasoline stocks are already at a record low, with little spare fuel on hand.

Nobody can tell you what Trump will decide. These steps cost little and help in any case:

• Keep your gas tank above half in the days around the election.
• Fill heating oil or propane tanks early.
• Refill prescriptions now.
• Keep a week of food and water in the house.
• Don’t panic buy. Buy a little extra each trip.

Steve Poplar is the publisher of The Poplar Report.