US military told to prepare for potential resumption of Iran strikes — reports

Officials tell Axios Pentagon order was made several days ago, renewed strikes may target nuclear, infrastructure and energy sites; Israel said likely to be involved

By ToI Staff Today, 1:42 pm

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An F/A-18 Super Hornet attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 195 lands aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), October 1, 2026, in the Middle East. (U.S. Navy photo)

The Pentagon has told the US military to be ready to resume military operations against Iran, US officials were quoted by Axios as saying in a Thursday report, which said the order was made several days ago.

The report said that US President Donald Trump has not made a definitive decision on the matter, and that the order did not include a date for the potential resumption of open conflict, but that it could come before the Israeli election at the end of the month.

“The US is in a very strong position with control of the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian economy collapsing. Iran has been decimated, and things will go one of two ways: the easy way or the hard way,” a White House official said.

“President Trump holds all the cards and will do whatever is best for the United States,” the official said.

Sources told Axios that if strikes are to resume, they are expected to target nuclear, infrastructure and energy sites.

The report said that the fighting would likely to also include the Israeli military. It cited two Israeli officials as saying that Iran is “desperate and paranoid,” and may choose to strike first.

US President Donald Trump waves to reporters as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival to the White House, October 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Last month, an Israeli official told Saudi media that another round of strikes against Iran is “only a matter of time,” and that Israel was ready for renewed fighting “at any time.”

The Axios report came after two administration officials told The Atlantic that the White House had asked the Pentagon to draw up plans for the resumption of strikes even ahead of the US midterm elections in November.

The officials told the periodical that the potential move would demonstrate that Trump is serious in his wish to reduce gas prices.

Iran has worked to rebuild its nuclear facilities and missile sites, and recent reports also pointed to satellite images as showing “significant renewed activity” at its underground Minzadehei nuclear facility near Tehran, which the IDF bombed during the war.

According to the IDF, Minzadehei was where Iran had moved much of its nuclear program after the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June 2025, during which the US also bombed key Iranian nuclear sites.

Volunteers sit under a portrait of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei while attending a military training course at a camp set up in Imam Hussein Square in Tehran, Iran, on October 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

While Iran, whose leaders are sworn to Israel’s destruction, denies seeking nuclear arms, it has enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities.

The US and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28 in a bid to destroy the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and destabilize the regime. Iran responded with deadly strikes on Israel and on Arab states that host US bases, as well as by obstructing the Strait of Hormuz, which carried about a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas shipments before the conflict. The US responded with a blockade of Iranian ports.

The fighting entered a shaky truce in April, when armed conflict between Israel and Iran largely stopped. But since then, US-Iran peace talks mediated by Qatar and Pakistan have appeared to stall as Iran refuses US demands to dismantle the nuclear program and fully open the strait.