WASHINGTON — U.S. forces in the Middle East could launch new and potentially major operations against Iran within 96 hours of an order from President Donald Trump, two U.S. officials told CNN.
Enough American forces are now deployed in the region to carry out the attacks, the officials said. The operations would go well beyond the limited strikes used since Trump halted full combat operations earlier this year, which hit radars, launchers and other Iranian assets that can be rebuilt quickly.
Leaders at U.S. Central Command and the Pentagon have built a wide-ranging target list. It includes Iranian energy infrastructure, military sites and nuclear facilities, according to the officials. They said Iran’s forces now know American tactics better than before, and that would make it harder to destroy every intended target.
Trump has not decided what he will do after the midterm elections, the officials said, though he appears to be leaning toward major action. They cautioned that he has leaned toward a course before and backed off at the last moment.
The White House declined to comment.
“The Department is a planning organization, and its job is to develop and execute military options ordered by the President.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pressed to carry out new attacks on Iran. U.S. officials have asked him to wait until Washington is ready for joint operations, according to two U.S. officials and an Israeli security source.
“Netanyahu really wanted and tried to convince Trump for a joint attack in Iran before the elections, and Trump did not give a green light,” the Israeli security source told CNN. The prime minister’s office said this was “fake news.”
Israel’s Channel 12 News reported Sunday that IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir got a directive from the political echelon tied to Iran. Zamir asked for an in-depth discussion and legal authorizations before carrying it out, the report said, fearing a miscalculation could set off an immediate conflict. Defense Minister Israel Katz said the report was “completely baseless and false.”
The Israeli security source said Zamir had told Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that an attack would harm Israel’s elections and could lead to their postponement. Israel votes on Tuesday.
Recent U.S. intelligence assessments indicate Iran and the Houthis are taking the possibility of renewed American and Israeli attacks very seriously, two other sources familiar with the matter told CNN. If Iran is hit first, Tehran and the Houthis would likely strike back at once against American personnel and facilities across the region, and possibly beyond, the sources said.
An unclassified Oct. 23 memo from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran “has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel.” Plotting efforts, the memo said, “have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries.” CNN reported the memo earlier.
That regional threat is one reason the United States is expected to keep pulling personnel from its embassies across the Middle East in the coming days, one of the sources said. The embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is the only American mission in the region under ordered departure so far. Nonessential military personnel who were due to deploy on the next troop rotation have been told they are no longer being sent, a U.S. official said.
Adm. Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, visited the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. The U.S. military maintains its blockade on Iranian ports and helps shipping traffic through the waterway, CENTCOM said. Cooper flew over the strait in a helicopter and met service members who cleared the waterway of Iranian mines.
“We continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Gulf partners and the shipping industry,” Cooper said in a news release. “This visit underscores our strong commitment to continued freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.”
One U.S. official acknowledged the status quo around the strait is “untenable” for the long term. Barring a last-minute diplomatic breakthrough, the official said, that is one reason Trump may turn to military action, even though questions remain about whether the White House has a broader strategy for ending the conflict.
Reuters reported that top officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan were set to meet Iran’s leaders in Tehran on Monday. It was the first high-level contact of its kind since Saudi Arabia became a pressure point in the wider conflict. Reuters also reported that both Washington and Tehran have drawn up plans to restart the wider war, possibly after the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3.
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