WASHINGTON, November 4. /TASS/. The United States and Iran have reached "the edge of the abyss," while resumed large-scale fighting between them could result in oil prices soaring to $200 a barrel and lead to a global economic depression, among other things, Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told TASS, as he commented on potential implications of the US midterm election results for US President Donald Trump’s foreign policy agenda.

"The two sides have walked up to the edge of the abyss. Having seen the disaster that likely will follow, there's a chance they walk back. Trump has after all reversed his position at the last moment before," he said.

The warnings issued by Washington to Tehran over the past couple of months are effectively "a war crimes plan," which includes "the targeting of civilian infrastructure, critical infrastructure, desalination plants, energy infrastructure, power plants, etc.," Parsi noted. "Iran will respond in kind," he stressed. "This will generate an energy crisis that will be far worse than what we have witnessed so far. Oil prices will likely reach $200, followed by a global depression. Trump may feel less politically restricted after the midterms, but that won't change the reality of what a third round of war [between the US and Iran] will bring about," the expert concluded.

Parsi is a native of Iran. He studied international relations and economics at universities in Sweden before moving to the United States, where he received a doctorate from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. He is known in the US as one of the most prominent experts on relations with Iran.

The United States is holding its midterm congressional elections, with one-third of the Senate and all seats in the House of Representatives contested. Voters are also electing governors in 36 states and territories. Republicans currently control both chambers of Congress.

The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. In June, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding providing for an immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts. However, on the night of July 8, the United States resumed strikes against Iran, accusing it of violating the terms of the agreement regarding the Strait of Hormuz. Later Washington signaled an end to the use of large-scale force against Tehran, shifting instead toward an attempt to economically strangle the country through sanctions.