U.S. Forces Prepared to Launch Major Iran Strikes Within 96 Hours of a Trump Order, CNN Reports

U.S. forces in the Middle East are prepared to launch new, potentially large-scale military operations against Iran within 96 hours of receiving an order from President Donald Trump, according to two U.S. officials cited by CNN.

The officials said enough forces are now in place to carry out the attacks. The scope would likely go beyond recent strikes on radars, launchers and other Iranian assets that can be rebuilt quickly, which CNN described as efforts to “mow the lawn” since Trump halted full combat operations earlier this year.

“It will be a big effort,” one of the officials told CNN. Other current and former U.S. officials familiar with internal planning discussions echoed that view. Some of them said it is a question of when, not if, Trump issues an order. They believe an order could come at any time before the end of the year, though most likely after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

A wider target list, and a decision not yet made

Leaders at U.S. Central Command and the Pentagon have been building a wide-ranging target list that includes Iranian energy infrastructure, military sites and nuclear facilities, according to CNN. Officials also said Iranian forces are now more familiar with U.S. tactics, which would make it harder for the American military to destroy every intended target.

Trump has not decided what he will do after the midterms, officials said, but he appears to be leaning toward ordering large-scale action. The same officials cautioned that Trump has leaned toward actions in the past and then backed off at the last moment. The White House declined to comment.

A senior Pentagon official told CNN in a statement: “The Department is a planning organization, and its job is to develop and execute military options ordered by the President.”

Retaliation warnings and embassy drawdowns

Recent U.S. intelligence assessments say Iran and Houthi rebels are taking the possibility of renewed American and Israeli attacks very seriously, according to two sources familiar with the matter. If the U.S. and Israel launch new operations, Tehran and the Houthis would likely retaliate at once against American personnel and facilities in the region and possibly beyond, those sources said.

An unclassified Oct. 23 memo from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio said U.S. intelligence found that Iran has “substantially increased efforts to target US personnel” and that plotting efforts “have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries,” CNN previously reported.

The threat is one reason the U.S. is expected to keep pulling personnel from embassies across the Middle East in the coming days, a source told CNN. The embassy in Riyadh is the only American diplomatic facility in the region under an ordered departure, but others are expected to receive similar directives and those that do not will be scaled down under a personnel cap. Nonessential U.S. military personnel who were due to deploy to the Middle East in the next troop rotation have been told they are no longer being sent, according to a U.S. official.

Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, visited the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday as the U.S. military maintains its blockade on Iranian ports and assists shipping through the waterway. Cooper said in a news release that the visit showed a “strong commitment to continued freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.”

Despite more tankers moving through the strait, oil prices remain high, partly because of the threat of possible Iranian attacks, CNN reported. One U.S. official called the status quo around the strait “untenable” for the long term and said that, without a last-minute diplomatic breakthrough, it is one reason Trump may turn to military action.

Israel asked to wait

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing for new attacks on Iran, but U.S. officials have asked him to delay until the Trump administration 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. One reason Trump declined, the source said, is that Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Eyal Zamir told U.S. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, that an attack before the elections would harm the elections in Israel and lead to their postponement.

Israel appears to have delayed new strikes for now but is building up for possible joint operations with the U.S., likely after the American midterms, all of the sources said. Israel agreed in part because it needs U.S. support for missile defense, the source briefed on the matter said, since Iran and the Houthis would likely retaliate and Israel’s defensive munitions have been strained during the war.

Netanyahu said this week in a speech at an IDF graduation ceremony that his directive to the IDF, the Mossad and other security branches is to topple the regime in Iran. “The plans are ready, waiting for Trump’s approval, could be after the midterms,” the same source told CNN.

Reporting based on coverage by CNN.