The Pentagon is drawing up plans for potential military operations against Iran that could extend over several weeks, a significant escalation from past engagements between the two adversaries, according to two U.S. officials.
The disclosure signals heightened risks for diplomatic efforts currently underway to defuse tensions over Tehran’s nuclear activities. Officials described the preparations on condition of anonymity given the classified nature of military planning.
American and Iranian representatives held discussions in Oman last week aimed at reviving negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. Those talks came after President Donald Trump deployed substantial military assets to the region, fueling concern about imminent armed action.
The Pentagon announced Friday it would dispatch an additional aircraft carrier to the Middle East along with thousands more personnel, fighter jets, guided-missile destroyers and other weaponry capable of executing strikes and countering attacks. The deployment adds to forces already positioned in the area.
Trump, addressing U.S. service members Friday at a North Carolina military installation, said reaching an agreement with Iran had “been difficult to make a deal.”
“Sometimes you have to have fear. That’s the only thing that really will get the situation taken care of,” Trump said.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly, asked about preparations for an extended military campaign, said Trump “has all options on the table with regard to Iran.”
“He listens to a variety of perspectives on any given issue, but makes the final decision based on what is best for our country and national security,” Kelly said.
The Pentagon declined to comment on operational planning.
Washington dispatched two carrier groups to the region last year before conducting strikes against Iranian nuclear installations. However, that June operation, code-named Midnight Hammer, consisted primarily of a single attack involving stealth bombers flying from the United States. Iran responded with a limited strike on a U.S. facility in Qatar.
Current planning differs substantially in scope and complexity, the officials said. A prolonged campaign could target Iranian government and security infrastructure beyond nuclear sites, one official said, without providing specifics.
Military analysts say American forces would face considerably greater danger in sustained operations against Iran, which possesses extensive missile capabilities. Iranian retaliation could also trigger broader regional hostilities involving multiple countries.
The official said U.S. planners anticipate Iranian reprisals that would likely produce successive rounds of attacks and counterattacks spanning an extended period.
The White House and Pentagon did not address questions regarding retaliation risks or the potential for wider conflict.
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Trump has repeatedly threatened military action over Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile development and its suppression of internal dissent. He warned Thursday that alternatives to diplomacy would prove “very traumatic, very traumatic.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have stated that strikes on Iranian territory would prompt attacks on American military installations. The United States operates bases across the Middle East in Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with Trump in Washington on Wednesday, saying any agreement with Iran “must include the elements that are vital to Israel.”
Tehran has indicated willingness to discuss constraints on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief but has rejected connecting those negotiations to its missile capabilities.
The Oman discussions represented the most substantive diplomatic engagement between Washington and Tehran in months. Details of what was discussed have not been made public, though officials from both sides described the atmosphere as serious.
Iran’s nuclear program has advanced significantly since Trump withdrew from an international agreement in 2018 that had placed strict limits on Tehran’s enrichment activities. International inspectors report Iran has accumulated uranium enriched to levels approaching weapons grade, though Tehran maintains its program serves civilian energy purposes.
Trump administration officials argue Iran’s expanding nuclear capabilities, combined with its ballistic missile development and support for armed groups across the region, pose an unacceptable threat requiring urgent action.
Iranian officials counter that their programs are defensive and that American military presence in the Middle East represents the primary source of regional instability.
The military buildup has drawn concern from some members of Congress who question whether the administration is preparing for conflict without adequate consultation with lawmakers. Constitutional debates over war powers have intensified as the deployments grow.
Regional governments have expressed alarm about becoming caught in crossfire should fighting erupt. Gulf Arab states, while aligned with Washington on containing Iranian influence, fear damage to their economies and infrastructure from any sustained military exchange.
The complexity of current planning contrasts with the more limited strike options the Pentagon prepared during previous crises with Iran. Extended operations would require logistical arrangements for resupply, coordination across multiple theaters, and defenses against Iranian asymmetric tactics including proxy forces and cyber operations.
Neither the White House nor Pentagon has specified what actions by Iran might trigger military operations or what objectives such a campaign would seek to achieve.