Julian E. Barnes, Eric Schmitt, Farnaz Fassihi, Natan Odenheimer and Ronen Bergman
WASHINGTON – The US and Israeli militaries have developed specific plans for renewed strikes against Iran after the American midterm elections, according to US officials and other people briefed on the deliberations.
As planning for a short but intensive operation progresses, the US and Israeli militaries have stepped up exercises, flying planes over Iraq to practise strike manoeuvres.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel earlier in October to discuss new strikes, US officials said.
The targets would likely include Iran’s energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and missile and drone arsenal.
Some officials say one more big round of attacks could push Iran’s economy over the brink and force the country to make diplomatic concessions after nearly eight months of conflict.
Still, there are reasons to be sceptical that a renewed war would be any more successful than the first phase of intense US-Israeli strikes between February and April.
Those rounds of fighting drove up energy prices and inflation around the world, eroded security in the Middle East and severely strained the Pentagon’s supply of missile interceptors.
It is also far from certain US President Donald Trump will approve fresh strikes. He has repeatedly vetoed plans in 2026 for a return to major combat operations.
All of the officials interviewed for this story spoke on condition of anonymity.
Iranian officials have promised to retaliate this time by expanding their targets beyond commercial ships and energy infrastructure in the region to data centres and underwater internet cables.
They say the fighting will be neither quick nor limited.
While the United States is assembling a massive arsenal that will be fully in place by early November, diplomatic efforts have continued, as US negotiators use the potential return to war as leverage with Iran to make progress on their demands on its nuclear programme and control over the Strait of Hormuz.
So far, however, Iran’s negotiators have been unwilling to make concessions on the nuclear programme, insisting on deferring that issue until later in the talks.
Israel’s election on Oct 27 could complicate the plans. If Netanyahu loses, he will become a caretaker prime minister, and it will be difficult for him to launch a war, experts say.
But some analysts believe that Netanyahu could leverage the prospect of an imminent joint US-Israel strike to pressure his rivals into joining a unity government to manage the war, which would extend his hold on power. NYTIMES
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.