US Central Command has briefed the defense secretary on options to hit Iran again after the November 3 midterm elections, The Hill reported. President Trump has said there will be no attack before the vote but that something will happen before long, while Iran warned it would respond and also go on the offensive.
Citing the US outlet The Hill, the Kyunghyang Shinmun reported on the 25th that US Central Command (CENTCOM) has briefed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on options for resuming strikes on Iran after the midterms. The plans can be carried out as soon as the White House approves them, and the final decision rests with President Trump. Al Jazeera stressed that the report does not mean an attack order has been given.
광고 문의 · 300×250This differs in angle from yesterday’s report on the weekend use of force against Iran: the core of this story is the timing, after the election. Earlier this month Trump said on social media that the US would not attack Iran before the midterms, and the New York Times reported that he rejected five proposals for major operations but again asked for military options. A post-election strike therefore remains open.
Trump’s remarks and the US force posture
At a rally in Florida, Trump said the US “may do another little Epic Fury,” the code name of the operation that began on February 28. According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, he said he is not negotiating with Iran but that “something will happen one way or the other before long,” and on Saturday he gave no timing while also leaving room for a “big, beautiful” deal.
The buildup continues. Al Jazeera reported that the carrier strike group USS Theodore Roosevelt, about 10,000 additional troops and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit will deploy to the Middle East by the end of November, while the Kyunghyang Shinmun put US forces in the region at about 50,000 with roughly 20 warships. A South Korean defense ministry official said the military’s role is to prepare and present options to the president and declined to speculate on future operations.
Iran’s response and expert views
Tehran pushed back hard. President Masoud Pezeshkian accused Washington of wrecking talks that were under way, yet said efforts to reach a deal should continue. Iran announced last Wednesday a shift to an “offensive” military doctrine, and a Revolutionary Guard spokesman warned that if attacked it would both respond and launch an offensive. Iran’s army said on Sunday it shot down a US one-way attack drone over Bandar Abbas, a claim the US had not confirmed.
Experts are divided. Gregory Brew of Eurasia Group considers renewed US strikes likely after the midterms, while Julie Norman of Chatham House called the planning both a deterrent and a real option and warned of “a very high risk of miscalculation.” Diplomatic channels are not fully shut: with talks mediated via Pakistan and Qatar, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that if Washington is rational it will not repeat military aggression. We will keep tracking changes in both sides’ positions.
