US forces in the Middle East are prepared to launch major military operations against Iran “within 96 hours of receiving” an order from President Donald Trump, CNN reported, citing two US officials.
However, Trump has not yet decided whether to launch a new offensive. The Israeli prime minister’s office dismissed the claim as “fake news.
Enough US forces are already deployed in the region to carry out the attacks, according to the report. A senior Pentagon official told CNN, “The Department is a planning organisation, and its job is to develop and execute military options ordered by the President. Iran and the Houthis are taking the possibility of renewed US attacks seriously, according to sources familiar with the intelligence assessments. An October 23 memo from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US intelligence had found that “Iran has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel”. The memo also said plotting efforts “have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries,” according to the report. Israel had been preparing for the possibility of fresh strikes on Iran and had sought US support for the operation, according to sources cited by CNN. Meanwhile Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at an Israeli military graduation ceremony this week that his instructions to the military, the Mossad and other security agencies were to topple the Iranian regime.
