Is another Iran war looming? US-Israel military moves raise alarm
The United States and Israel are preparing for possible renewed attacks on Iran, with military operations potentially beginning before next week's Israeli elections, according to senior Iranian officials and a US official cited by Drop Site.
However, the White House has denied plans to attack Iran before the US midterm elections.The reported preparations come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a challenging political contest and US President Donald Trump grapples with historically low approval ratings ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. Reports in the Israeli press have suggested that Netanyahu is seeking to use the standoff with Iran to his political advantage.A senior Iranian official told Drop Site that Tehran's internal intelligence assessment indicated a high likelihood of large-scale bombing beginning before Tuesday's Israeli elections. The official, who was not authorised to speak publicly, said negotiations had stalled because Trump had not acted on Iran's proposed package to end the war."Trump has sat on Iran’s proposed package for ending the war, and negotiations have stalled," the official said.
"Contrary to the show he is putting on, Trump has no clear or actionable plan for [ending] the war with Iran. This has been the cause of a diplomatic deadlock."The official warned against underestimating Iran's military capabilities, claiming, "Should another war against Iran begin, given our knowledge of the patterns of American force deployment in the countries of the region, their casualty figures will be ten times higher."The White House rejected the prospect of an imminent attack. "The United States will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the midterm elections," White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to Drop Site.US military assets move towards the regionA US official told Drop Site that military assets were being rapidly moved into position ahead of a possible order from Trump to resume operations.
The official identified US Central Command chief Gen. Bradley Cooper as among those pushing for renewed attacks."CENTCOM is putting all the pieces into place to renew major combat operations," the official said. While expressing doubt that a new offensive would begin before the Israeli elections, the official added, "We did start Epic Fury without all our assets in place."The USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit are heading to the Middle East, bringing approximately 10,000 additional sailors and Marines to the region.
The Roosevelt departed Japan on Monday and could arrive by the end of next week, ahead of its initially expected deployment in late November. It is expected to join the USS George H.W. Bush and USS George Washington, both currently in the Arabian Sea.Although the US official described the likelihood of renewed American and Israeli attacks as high, the official said Trump had repeatedly approached the threshold of military action before backing down."Trump has backed off major combat operations against Iran or the Houthis seven times since July," the official said, referring to Ansarallah, which launched a major offensive against Saudi-backed groups in Yemen. "At the last minute, he calls it off."Trump signals possibility of another operationMeanwhile, Trump said on Friday that the US could launch another military operation against Iran as the war approaches its eight-month mark.
Rising fuel prices have added pressure ahead of the midterm elections."We may do another little Epic Fury," Trump told a rally in Florida, referring to the US military's codename for the war. He did not elaborate.Earlier in the day, Trump said the US could end the war quickly but questioned whether Washington should pursue a swift conclusion or allow the conflict to wind down gradually. He has offered shifting goals and timelines for the war and said in recent campaign remarks that it would end soon, "one way or the other".Trump had said earlier this month that the US would not attack Iran before the November 3 elections, which will determine control of Congress, where his Republican Party holds narrow majorities in both chambers.Netanyahu threatens pre-emptive actionNetanyahu said on Wednesday that Iran was actively pursuing the development of a nuclear weapon, though he did not provide evidence for the claim. He also said he had directed the Israeli military to prepare for pre-emptive action."The Iranian regime still has not learned its lesson. Mojtaba Khamenei decided to follow in his father’s footsteps. He has taken off the safety, and Iran is once again trying to develop its weapons of death," Netanyahu said."There is only one way to remove this threat once and for all, to topple the regime in Iran, and that is my directive to the IDF, the Mossad and the security agencies," he added.Iran warns of wider retaliationIran's top security official, Gen. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the country's Supreme National Security Council and personal representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said Tehran retained the capacity to launch missiles and drones against US assets across the region if hostilities resumed.
He warned that Iran would also expand its range of targets."If the question is whether Iran still has the ability to continue missile and drone operations, the answer is yes," Rezaei told Drop Site in an exclusive written interview. "The United States has valuable assets in the region. In the event of war, cables, data centers and artificial intelligence facilities could also come within range. If the conflict begins again, we will have a broader plan.""Everyone must understand that action against Iran carries a cost," he added. "If diplomacy can bring about that understanding, we prefer diplomacy. But if the war continues, Iran has the tools it needs to keep responding."The senior Iranian official said Tehran believes Israel would launch the initial strikes, targeting Iran's newly deployed air defence systems to clear the way for US bombers. The US would then likely target Iran's southern defence systems along the Strait of Hormuz and could attempt to seize an island off the Iranian mainland following heavy bombing.The official also suggested that Trump might seek a limited strike on an underground Iranian nuclear facility, such as Pickaxe Mountain, and present it as a decisive victory."Trump is flat-out lying about Iran’s nuclear program," the official said.The US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, prompting Tehran to retaliate with strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases. The conflict has driven up global oil and gas prices, while US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions.