US military ordered to ready for possible new Iran strikes

The Pentagon has told the US military to finish preparing for a possible return to major combat in Iran, though it has not set a date, US officials said.

US Central Command got the instruction several days ago, the officials said. No launch date came with it. Trump himself has yet to decide whether the war should restart.

According to US and Israeli sources, strikes could begin before the US midterm elections next month, and possibly before Israel votes a week earlier. Should major operations restart, sources expect heavy bombing of Iranian energy facilities, infrastructure and nuclear sites.

What US officials are weighing

“The Department’s job is to develop and present military options to the President,” a Pentagon official said. A White House official, meanwhile, stressed that Trump can choose from all options whenever he wants. That official claimed the US holds a strong hand, pointing to control of the Strait of Hormuz and a collapsing Iranian economy. Matters would end “the easy way or the hard way,” the official said.

On Friday, Trump’s security advisers spent several hours at Camp David discussing the conflict among other topics. One Israeli official said part of the session covered a possible restart of large-scale combat. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later described the meeting as focused on long-term foreign policy planning.

Diplomacy, meanwhile, has stalled. Negotiations between the two countries have gone nowhere. Qatari mediators still await an answer from Tehran to a US counteroffer that demanded nuclear concessions.

A second Israeli official put the chance of strikes before the elections as not high. “But we don’t rule it out,” the official added, saying the likelihood grows significantly after the midterms. Trump also held a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, their second in days. That call followed a meeting Netanyahu held with his security team on Iran, while Netanyahu had also spoken to Rubio on Monday.

Any renewed campaign would most likely see US and Israeli forces fight side by side. In return, Tehran would likely launch hundreds of ballistic missiles toward Israel. The two Israeli officials said Iran had already faced two surprise attacks and wanted to avoid a third.

Oil markets react to US military plans

Crude prices rose slightly after a report that the White House wanted strike options the US military could carry out before the midterms. Brent finished the session close to $100 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate rose toward $89.

Weather added to supply worries. Tropical Storm Isaias also led producers in the Gulf of Mexico to shut more than 510,000 barrels of daily crude output. That equals roughly a quarter of what the region pumps.

Prices have climbed steeply this year because fighting between the US and Iran hit exports, ran down global energy stocks and pushed up inflation. Shipments from the Middle East have grown in recent weeks. Still, attacks on ships have jumped, including a strike on a tanker off Qatar that caused casualties.

Higher oil prices could follow any new fighting within the next three to four weeks, which in turn could shape the midterm vote. For now, the US military waits on a decision from Trump.