TEL AVIV / ISTANBUL — The United States and Israel are preparing plans for a possible attack on Iran in early November, after the US midterm elections, a person briefed on the US and Israel's war planning told NPR on Thursday, October 22. Iran said it is prepared.
Source: NPR (via WHRO)
The person, who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity to discuss the preparations, said Israel had initially planned to strike Iran in mid-October, about two weeks before Israeli elections on October 27, but President Donald Trump objected. According to the person briefed, the US is now amassing forces in the region to be ready to attack by early November, after the US midterm elections on November 3, but the preparations could also be part of a campaign to pressure Iran to reach a diplomatic deal.
Separately, citing senior US officials, The New York Times reported that the US and Israel have 'developed specific plans' for a 'short but intensive operation' in Iran that would include targets such as nuclear facilities, energy infrastructure and the country's arsenal of missiles and drones, The News International reported. One official told the newspaper the goal would be to force Iran into making 'diplomatic concessions' by further weakening its economy, as negotiations to end the conflict have gone nowhere. The US has also maintained a blockade of Iranian oil exports in the Strait of Hormuz that has sapped Tehran's oil revenues, The News reported.
Source: The News International (citing NYT and NPR)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is seeking re-election, is campaigning on a threat to topple Iran's regime, NPR reported. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian state media on Thursday: 'We are just as prepared for diplomacy as we are for war.' 'Any scenario is conceivable, including the possibility of an attack by the US and Israel,' Araghchi said. Iranian state media also quoted a security source saying that if Iranian officials or civilian infrastructure were attacked, Iran would retaliate by targeting US interests in the region, as well as the infrastructure and assets of countries participating in the war, NPR reported.
The US and Israel launched a war on Iran on February 28, killing its supreme leader and a number of senior Iranian officials, NPR reported. Since then, the two sides have failed to uphold a ceasefire agreement and have traded strikes over control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a large share of the world's oil passes — a route whose disruption has kept oil prices above $100 a barrel and directly affects fuel costs, shipping and remittance-linked economies across the Gulf, where lakhs of Indian and Punjabi workers live.
The attack-planning account rests on one anonymous person briefed on the planning, speaking to NPR, plus a separate New York Times account citing senior US officials. No US or Israeli government has publicly confirmed a decision to attack, and the same reporting says the build-up may be intended as pressure for a deal. Awaaz Punjab presents the plans as reported plans, not as a confirmed decision.
What is solid
- A person briefed on US-Israeli war planning told NPR the two countries are preparing plans for a possible attack on Iran in early November, after the US midterms — NPR, Oct 22
- The source said Israel's earlier mid-October timing was dropped after President Trump objected — NPR
- Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran is 'just as prepared for diplomacy as we are for war' — Iranian state media via NPR
What is only claimed
- Whether an attack will actually happen — the NPR source said the preparations could also be a pressure campaign for a diplomatic deal, and no government has confirmed a decision
- The NYT account of a planned 'short but intensive operation' against nuclear, energy and missile targets — reported via senior US officials speaking to the NYT, not officially confirmed