US Military Reportedly Readies Options for New Iran Strikes as Both Sides Warn of Escalation

The US military has prepared options for fresh attacks on Iran, according to the Washington-based website The Hill, raising the possibility of another major round of fighting in a war now approaching its eighth month. The outlet reported that Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American forces in the Middle East, has follow-up strikes ready if the White House authorises them, and that planners have also presented several options to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The report centred on possible action after the November 3 US midterm elections. President Donald Trump, however, suggested on Saturday that a strike could come as soon as "tomorrow", while also floating the chance of a "big, beautiful" agreement with Tehran. At a rally on Friday, he said Washington "may do another little Epic Fury", a reference to the codename of the US-Israeli operation against Iran that began on February 28.

Earlier this month, Axios reported that the Pentagon had told CENTCOM to finish preparations for a possible return to major combat operations, with targets that could include Iranian energy facilities, infrastructure and nuclear sites. On Wednesday, The New York Times reported that the US and Israel had drawn up joint plans for an attack after the midterms. Such preparations are not an order to strike, and the decision rests with Trump.

The reports come amid American warnings about alleged Iranian threats to US personnel abroad. An intelligence memo sent 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 State Department has ordered staffing reductions at several regional embassies. The memo did not name targets or say when any attacks might happen.

Washington is also adding forces in the region. The USS Theodore Roosevelt, a third aircraft carrier strike group, is due to arrive by the end of November along with roughly 10,000 additional soldiers and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Iran has paired calls for more talks with warnings of a wider response. President Masoud Pezeshkian said in remarks broadcast Saturday that "the cowards [Americans] messed everything up" in the negotiations, but added that efforts to reach an agreement should continue. Parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf will skip the BRICS Parliamentary Forum in New Delhi, with the Iranian Embassy citing "unforeseen circumstances".

On Sunday, Iran's army said it shot down a US-developed LUCAS drone over Bandar Abbas, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. Reuters, citing Iranian security officials, reported that Tehran has plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf if US and Israeli attacks resume. Iran also announced a shift to an "offensive" doctrine, with Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohebi warning that it would both respond to and launch offensives against any country that attacks it. October has been the worst month for attacks on ships since the war began, with more than 120 reported.

Julie Norman, an associate fellow at Chatham House, told Al Jazeera the planning is both immediate deterrence and "a very real option after the midterms". She warned of "a very high risk of miscalculation by either side" and said Iran is drawing up target lists that include energy infrastructure and US-aligned states.

Politics adds to the uncertainty. Trump faces pressure to avoid escalation before Tuesday's election, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose poll numbers are slipping, has pushed for an attack and said overthrowing Iran's government remains Israel's "primary objective". Mohamad Elmasry of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies pointed to Hegseth's recent visit to Israel and reported US personnel withdrawals as signs of coming action, warning the next round "could actually be more dangerous, more catastrophic". Norman said the key question from military advisers is what further escalation would achieve that earlier rounds did not, and that no clear answer has emerged.