US forces in the Middle East are prepared to launch new, potentially major, military operations against Iran within 96 hours of receiving an order from President Donald Trump, according to two US officials cited by CNN. No order has been given, and the officials said Trump has not yet made a final decision.

Source: CNN via KION

The officials said sufficient forces are now deployed in the region to carry out the potential attacks, and that the scope of any new operation would likely go beyond the limited strikes used since Trump halted full combat operations earlier this year — strikes against radars, launchers and other Iranian assets that can be quickly restored, an approach the officials described as simply “mowing the lawn.”

Source: CNN via KION

“It will be a big effort,” one of the officials told CNN. That view was echoed by other current and former US officials familiar with internal military planning discussions, some of whom told CNN they believe it is a question of when, not if, Trump issues an order — most likely after the US midterm elections on November 3, and at some point before the end of the year.

Source: The Business Standard (TBS News), reporting CNN

96 hoursReported readiness window after a presidential order
Nov 3US midterm elections — officials see any order as most likely after this date
No order yetTrump has not made a final decision, officials said

Target list said to include energy and nuclear sites

Leaders in US Central Command and the Pentagon have been developing a wide-ranging target list that includes Iranian energy infrastructure, military sites and nuclear facilities, according to the CNN report. The report also said Iranian forces are now more familiar with US tactics, which could make it harder for the American military to destroy all of its intended targets.

Source: CNN via KION

The White House declined to comment on the report. A senior Pentagon official told CNN in a statement: “The Department is a planning organization, and its job is to develop and execute military options ordered by the President.” Officials also cautioned that Trump has appeared to lean toward certain actions in the past only to back off at the last moment.

Source: CNN via KION

Why it matters for the Gulf and India

Any major new US campaign against Iran would raise the risk of retaliation across the region, including against energy infrastructure and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a route that matters directly to oil prices, flights and the lakhs of Indian and Punjabi workers living in Gulf countries.

The reported planning comes while senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have been meeting Iranian leaders in Tehran in a push to de-escalate the conflict, and while Israelis vote in a national election in which the Iran war is a central issue. Awaaz Punjab is presenting this strictly as a reported plan: readiness is not an order, and no new strike had been announced when this story was published.