CENTCOM Has Plans Ready for Iran Strikes as Pentagon Awaits Trump's Decision
The US military has drawn up options for renewed attacks on Iran, according to US media reporting, raising the prospect of another round of major fighting in a war approaching its eighth month.
According to The Hill, a Washington-based website, Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US forces in the Middle East, has plans ready for follow-up strikes if authorised by the White House. Military planners have also prepared several options for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the outlet reported.
The reporting has focused on possible attacks after the 3 November US midterm elections. But President Donald Trump suggested on Saturday that the United States could strike as soon as 'tomorrow', while also holding out the possibility of a 'big, beautiful' agreement with Tehran.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, accused Washington of derailing negotiations but said efforts to reach an agreement should continue. With both sides warning of further attacks, the question is whether the conflict could tip back into full-scale war.
The latest reporting suggests military preparations are advancing, although it remains unclear which options Trump might approve or when. Earlier this month Axios reported that the Pentagon had instructed CENTCOM to complete preparations for a possible resumption of major combat operations; its sources said a renewed campaign could target Iranian energy facilities, infrastructure and nuclear sites.
Those preparations do not amount to an order to attack. The decision ultimately rests with Trump, whose public statements continue to leave room for both military action and negotiations.
On Wednesday, The New York Times reported that the US and Israel have drawn up joint plans for an attack on Iran after the midterm elections. The reports come alongside US warnings about alleged Iranian threats to American personnel overseas.
An intelligence memo sent on Friday by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran had 'substantially increased efforts to target US personnel', with lethal plots reaching 'advanced stages' in the Middle East and elsewhere. The publicly reported memo did not identify specific targets or establish when any alleged attacks might occur. The Department of State has ordered staffing reductions at several regional embassies amid the warnings.
Trump has added to the uncertainty. At a rally on Friday, he said Washington 'may do another little Epic Fury', referring to the codename of the US-Israeli military operation against Iran that began on 28 February. On Saturday, he declined to disclose the timing of any possible attack while suggesting one could come as early as Sunday.
Julie Norman, associate fellow at Chatham House, told Al Jazeera the preparations served both as short-term posturing and a possible longer-term military objective next month. She said Trump always keeps options on the table, but this drawing up of plans is an immediate posturing deterrent and also a very real option after the midterms.
It comes as the US is deploying a third aircraft carrier strike group, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, along with roughly 10,000 additional soldiers and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Middle East by the end of November.
Tehran has combined calls for further negotiations with warnings that renewed US attacks would bring a wider response. In remarks broadcast on Saturday, Pezeshkian said they had been having negotiations and the 'cowards' — the Americans — messed everything up, before adding that efforts to conclude the agreement should continue.
On Sunday, Iran's army said it had shot down a US-developed LUCAS drone over the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. Reuters has also reported, quoting Iranian security officials, that Tehran has drawn up plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf in the event of a resumption of US and Israeli attacks.
On Wednesday, Iran also announced what it describes as a shift towards an 'offensive' military doctrine, warning that countries hosting bases used in US attacks could become targets. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman Hossein Mohebi said their defence doctrine was previously defensive — if a country attacked them, they would respond — but now they say if a country attacks them, they will both respond and launch an offensive.
October has become the worst month for attacks on ships since the war began in February, with more than 120 attacks reported so far. The timing is politically sensitive, with Trump facing pressure to avoid renewed escalation before the US midterm elections, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing for an attack as his support dwindles in the polls ahead of Tuesday's election, according to the reporting.
Mohamad Elmasry, a professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies in Qatar, told Al Jazeera recent developments pointed towards renewed fighting rather than a diplomatic breakthrough. Pointing to Hegseth's recent visit to Israel and Washington's reported withdrawal of personnel from regional diplomatic and military sites, he said all of that suggests the US and Israel are planning another round of attacks soon or very soon, and one fear is that the next round could be more dangerous and more catastrophic than the previous one. Norman added that the big question for Trump from military advisers is what a further round of escalation would bring that the other rounds did not, and how it would force Iran to the negotiating table — and there has been no clear answer to that.
