U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, has drawn up several options for striking Iran after the November midterm elections and briefed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on them, the political news outlet The Hill reported on the 24th. The plans are designed so that follow-up strikes on Iran could be carried out if the White House grants approval. A source said President Donald Trump intends to keep all options open until he makes a final decision.
The Defense Department said its job is to prepare and present military options to the president, adding that it does not speculate about hypothetical situations or future operations.
Trump had earlier repeated his warning that the United States could strike Iran after the midterm elections. Speaking to reporters on the 21st, he said he was not negotiating with Iran and that something would happen one way or the other before long. Most people seem to think it will come after the election, he said, adding that he would wait and see. At a campaign rally in Florida on the 23rd, he hinted at the possibility of military action, saying the United States could carry out another "midnight hammer" operation or that Iran could agree to a deal.
Gregory Brew, an Iran specialist at the political and economic risk consultancy Eurasia Group, told The Hill that the likelihood of the United States resuming military strikes on Iran appears considerably higher once the midterm elections are over.
Some analysts, however, questioned whether additional U.S. and Israeli strikes could extract concessions from Iran's leadership. Earlier strike operations depleted the Defense Department's stockpiles of missile interceptors and some advanced offensive weapons, sent gasoline prices sharply higher and badly destabilized the Middle East.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, meeting with diplomats in Tehran the same day, said that although there has recently been talk of a new war, he was already thinking about what comes after it. "Whether war happens or not, our policy will not change," he said. "They have already waged war twice and have seen the results," he added. "Even if they want to try again, they must know they will get a result no different from the past."