Middle East & North Africa
NYT: US and Israel have drawn up plans for new strikes on Iran after the midterm elections – an operation of about three days
The New York Times reports that the US and Israeli militaries have drawn up detailed plans for new strikes on Iran after the November 3 US midterm elections, envisaging a short, intense campaign of about three days against nuclear, energy, missile and drone targets. President Trump has not approved a new operation.
The US and Israeli militaries have drawn up detailed plans for new strikes on Iran after the American midterm elections of November 3. The report of the New York Times, citing American officials with knowledge of the discussions, says the plans provide for a short and intense military operation of about three days, targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, energy infrastructure and missile and drone capabilities.
The two countries have stepped up joint military exercises, with flights over Iraq to rehearse possible strikes. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth discussed the plans with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Israel this week. According to the Jerusalem Post, which reproduces the report, the US and Israel came close to an attack earlier in October, but President Donald Trump postponed it at the last moment. Trump has not yet approved a new operation, while diplomatic efforts for an agreement with Tehran continue.
Iranian officials have threatened that any new attack will bring a wider response, with strikes even on data centres and undersea communications cables. Trump himself said on October 8 that the US would not attack Iran before the elections, speaking of “productive talks” with the Islamic Republic and stressing that the blockade remains fully in force.
The Financial Times wrote on Tuesday that Netanyahu had pushed for a major attack and that the Israeli military was preparing a multi-day bombing campaign for the weekend of October 10, with targets including power stations, which did not happen because Trump opposed resuming hostilities before the elections. According to the FT, the strikes would have been heavier than those at the start of the joint US–Israeli campaign in February. Israeli military sources told the Jerusalem Post that the army was not planning an attack on October 10 and that the government had not given such an order.
The report comes after the disclosure that dozens of Israeli fighter jets reached Iran’s border in an exercise on Monday, flying over Syria and Iraq. The same day the State Department ordered non-essential staff to leave from Saudi Arabia because of Houthi attacks.