The US is building up military resources for a possible operation against Iran, - NYT

The US and Israel have developed plans to resume strikes on Iran, which could be carried out after the US congressional midterm elections on November 3. At the same time, the final decision depends on President Donald Trump, who has previously postponed large-scale military operations. This is reported by The New York Times citing sources.

According to the publication, the military agencies of the two countries are preparing for a short but intense operation. American and Israeli militaries have intensified exercises, launching aircraft over Iraq to practice strike maneuvers. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel this week to discuss new strikes, US officials said.

Potential targets include Iran's energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities, as well as missile and drone arsenals. According to some American officials, a new large-scale series of strikes could deepen Iran's economic crisis and force Tehran to make diplomatic concessions after nearly eight months of conflict.

At the same time, as NYT notes, there are doubts that resuming hostilities would produce a better result than the previous phase of American-Israeli strikes, which lasted from February to April. That phase of fighting caused global energy prices and inflation to rise, worsened the security situation in the Middle East, and significantly depleted the Pentagon's stocks of interceptor missiles.

In addition, Donald Trump has not yet approved the new operation. According to the publication, this year he has repeatedly postponed plans to resume large-scale hostilities, including in October, when American and Israeli forces were nearly ready to attack.

Despite this, the US is building up military resources that, according to sources, are to be ready by early November. In parallel, diplomatic negotiations continue: the American side is using the threat of resuming the war as leverage to extract concessions from Iran on its nuclear program and control of the Strait of Hormuz.

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However, Iranian negotiators are currently not ready to make concessions on the nuclear program and insist that it be considered at a later stage of the talks.

The White House said it does not comment on military plans "that may or may not exist." At the same time, it emphasized that Trump is keeping all options open to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Some officials say the targeted strikes will bypass oil refineries and oil infrastructure, as Mr. Trump seeks to prevent a further rise in gasoline prices.

Recall that earlier "Your City" wrote that US President Donald Trump rejected Iran's proposal for a seven-day ceasefire and told his aides that he considers resuming strikes on the country after the November midterm elections possible.