The Trump administration warned Iran that there "will be consequences" if Tehran continues its malign activities amid growing concern over a potential new round of U.S.-Iran hostilities after the midterm elections.

With just days until the 2026 elections and with war raging on in the Middle East, foreign ministers from the world's largest economies gathered in Atlanta, Georgia ahead of the G20 leaders meeting in December.

"The Iranian regime has had a choice... to either pursue the path towards normalcy, towards prosperity for their people, the path towards diplomacy. Or they can continue their malign activities, but there will be consequences for that, and we've seen the president taking concrete action," State Department principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News Digital on Friday.

Pigott was responding to reports that U.S. officials have warned regional partners to prepare for the possibility of heightened U.S. military action against Iran after Tuesday's elections, as well as potential Iranian retaliation.

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President Donald Trump has not made a final decision on renewed strikes, but U.S. diplomats and defense officials have privately urged several Middle Eastern countries and regional allies to prepare for the possibility of new military action and Iranian retaliation, according to an Associated Press report citing two diplomats briefed on the warnings.

The warnings come amid heightened concerns about Iranian threats against Americans overseas.

Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton wrote in an unclassified memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the U.S. had received intelligence that Iran had "substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel" and that lethal Iranian plots had reached "advanced stages" in the Middle East and elsewhere, according to Scripps News.

Asked whether those threats were being discussed with G20 counterparts and whether the U.S. was sharing intelligence with allies to disrupt potential plots, Pigott declined to discuss intelligence matters but said the U.S. was working with international partners against transnational threats.

"We're going to work with our partners to make sure that any transnational threat has the appropriate transnational response to protect our citizens," he insisted.

The prospect of renewed fighting with Iran loomed over the G20 foreign ministers' meeting, where Rubio has put energy security, secure supply chains and freedom of navigation among the U.S. priorities.

Rubio opened the two-day gathering Friday by warning that the world's largest economies face "interconnected economic and geopolitical crises" threatening energy and food supplies, trade, global supply chains and freedom of navigation.

Pigott said the administration's position remains that "there cannot be a situation where a country decides that they can control an international waterway and charge tolls over that waterway."

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In the aftermath of the war, Iran began asserting greater authority over the Strait of Hormuz and insisting on the right to collect fees from ships for services including navigation and environmental protection.

Asked what the U.S. wants G20 countries to do to keep the strait open, Pigott pointed to a broader principle that international waterways must remain free from coercion.

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"Fundamentally, the principle here is so important, making sure that we are having secure international waterways in the sense we're not having these tolls or coercion, making sure we have secure supply chains," Pigott said. "That is so important."

A Republican member on the House Armed Services Committee told Fox News Digital ahead of the midterm elections that the Trump administration has a key decision to make on the future of the U.S.-Iran war as "continuing to do just enough not to lose, but not enough to win, is not OK."

Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., made the comments as Vice President JD Vance declared during a Fox News town hall on Thursday that he promises "Donald Trump is not going to let Iran become a forever war." Official and military sources also told Fox News this week that movements are being made in the Middle East to give the president options if he decides to resume strikes against Iran.

"I share my constituents and many Americans' perspective that I'm very, very frustrated that this war is not over. The way that ultimately this administration went about conducting the war, it needed to execute it and wrap it up in a very short period of time, and we are not there yet," said Harrigan, who is running for re-election in North Carolina's 10th Congressional District.

"That being said, Iran can't have a nuclear weapon. And so at the end of the day, I do believe that this was a war that was inevitable at some point, but the party that's in power and the administration that decided to pull the trigger on it is responsible for the outcome, and they're responsible for the outcome in a very short period of time. Otherwise, things get really, really difficult," Harrigan continued. "And I think we've been seeing that, both from a political perspective but also from a policy perspective."

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"And so while the administration needs to wrap this up, we are not in a forever war, but we need to make sure that we're not... we keep the mission the same. We accomplish the mission. And we do what it takes to either win or come home," Harrigan added. "And that binary decision has to get made by this administration."

Harrigan told Fox News Digital that Trump "needs to involve Congress" if he chooses to renew military action against the Iranian regime.

"I think that that will long-term set the course for the country to be resolute in affirming and actually executing and accomplishing the objectives that exist. Because look, like it or not, Congress is responsible for the funding arm of the government. And if they run out of money to accomplish the objectives, then that is not good for our strategic interests," he said. "So, in my opinion, Congress and the White House need to be very closely involved in making the next set of decisions that exist for this conflict."

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"And we do need to make sure, again, that we either do what it takes to actually win in Iran, or we need to take the three out of five objectives that we've accomplished and say that, you know what? We've largely accomplished our strategic objectives. We've got more work to do over the long-term that's going to require consistent and persistent over the horizon monitoring of their nuclear program. And we're going to have to mow the lawn every now and again, and everybody's got to realize that, and leave, right?" Harrigan continued, mentioning how the U.S. has prevented Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and eliminated Tehran's missile and drone production.

"But we've got to choose one of those two options because continuing to do just enough not to lose, but not enough to win, is not OK," he said. "It's not OK for the American people, it's not OK for our troops, it's not OK for geopolitical and economic stability. And it does not serve the long-term strategic interests of the United States. So it's time to choose."

Harrigan, a Green Beret and business entrepreneur, is running for re-election on Tuesday in North Carolina. He is facing off against Democrat challenger Ashley Bell, a physician associate, and Libertarian candidate Steve Feldman, who ran unsuccessfully for the seat two years ago.

As a current member of Congress, Harrigan told Fox News there is "no question" the Republican Party's House majority is at stake heading into Election Day.

"Whoever has 218 votes gets to chart the course of the direction of the House, the work that its committees do. And in particular, as it relates to the Trump administration, whether or not President Trump's going to get impeached," he added.

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"What this boils down to is the future direction of the country. Are we going to be stuck looking backwards instead of actually looking forwards, dealing with the actual business of the country and the free world, or are we going to be stuck in some sort of a Democratically-led nightmare that is simply going to be obstructionist to the conservative principles and values that people voted for in 2024?" Harrigan asked. "That's what's on the line this election cycle."