According to a report by the American website Axios on October 7, several US officials revealed that the Pentagon had instructed the US Central Command to prepare for launching large-scale combat operations in Iran. However, the instructions did not specify a particular date for the operation, and President Trump has not yet made a final decision.
The report also cited sources from the United States and Israel, stating that the U.S. military might resume large-scale military operations against Iran before the U.S. mid-term elections on November 3rd, or even before the Israeli elections scheduled for October 27th, a week earlier. If such large-scale military operations are resumed, it is expected that they may include massive bombing of Iran’s energy, infrastructure, and nuclear targets.
It is reported that Trump’s national security team held several hours of meetings at Camp David on October 2. Some of the discussions focused on the possibility of resuming large-scale military operations against Iran. The meeting was described as “highly unusual” and was not officially announced to the public.
In the US-Iran negotiations, Axios reports that no progress has been made so far, and Qatar is still waiting for Iran to respond to the latest American proposal.
On October 1st, several American media reports indicated that the U.S. military is increasing its troops in the Middle East, including the USS Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group, several amphibious combat vessels, and thousands of Marines. In an interview published in Time magazine on the same day, Trump said that after the November midterm elections, he “might” order a more severe response against Iran.
