U.S. military moves Patriot system as aircraft prepare for strikes
The Wall Street Journal reported from Dubai that the United States had told several Gulf Arab countries to prepare for a possible short, intense military campaign after the U.S. midterm elections, according to people briefed on the conversations. The report said communications through diplomatic and military channels were among a growing number of indications that the United States and Israel were readying a new round of combat operations against Iran. In its assessment, the preparations were “risking a major escalation in hopes of degrading Tehran’s strength and pushing it toward negotiations.” The story appeared in the Journal’s October 28, 2026, print edition as “U.S. Plans To Renew Striking Iran After Midterms.”
President Trump had not decided whether to go ahead but was leaning toward a large postelection attack that could target Iranian infrastructure and nuclear sites, according to people familiar with his thinking. The alternative would be to try to cut a deal, though diplomatic efforts by regional mediators continued without producing results. At a rally last week, Trump said, “We may do another little Epic Fury,” referring to the heavy U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign in the spring. “Or they’ll agree.” Trump also had said he would not attack Iran before the midterms.
The White House said it wouldn’t comment on “sensitive military plans that may or may not exist.” It said, “President Trump keeps all options on the table to ensure that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.” The Defense Department said its job was to deliver such options. People familiar with the planning said the moves and related planning were meant to give Trump options if he decided to carry out a strike.
Officials familiar with the military moves said the U.S. military was bringing in a Patriot system from Texas to strengthen missile defenses and had moved troops away from bases where they were vulnerable. U.S. forces in the region also were restocking munitions, while bomber aircraft and jet fighters were preparing for strikes, some of the officials said.
An additional aircraft carrier strike group and Marine expeditionary unit were poised to join an armada of roughly 20 other warships operating in the Middle East next month, although some ships could rotate out.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that Israel had prepared plans and targets for a new attack. The report said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had continued to push for a resumption of strikes “in hopes of degrading Iran’s strength and ultimately toppling the regime.”
A return to airstrikes would mark a pivot from the Trump administration’s economic-pressure campaign. Tighter sanctions coupled with a naval blockade had cut off Iran’s oil sales for months, shut down much of its air links and cut into overland trade, increasing the pressure on Iran’s already-spiraling economy.
Iran had warned through public and private channels that it would respond to any attack with harsh strikes on economic and civilian targets across the region. It made similar threats ahead of the war, then hit U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities as well as energy facilities and airports across the Gulf. Any Iranian retaliation this time would come as the United States and its Gulf allies scrambled to restock missile-defense supplies strained by waves of Iranian attacks so far in the war.
Despite the damage done by the United States and Israel, Iran retained a stockpile of hundreds to thousands of missiles and had used the lull in fighting to shore up its defenses and prepare new plans for retaliation. The country was assembling new ballistic missiles from stockpiled parts, and Israeli officials were concerned by the speed with which Iran had been rebuilding.
The Wall Street Journal said many analysts believed Iran was unlikely to capitulate under further attacks. Iran had weathered more than 20,000 strikes by the United States and Israel during the most active phase of the war and had continued to attack ships in the Persian Gulf, target U.S. troops and warships and bring tough demands to the negotiating table. Middle East mediators were trying to revive talks with Iran to head off a new wave of combat but had little luck, with the United States insisting on discussing Iran’s nuclear program and Tehran laying out tough demands for resuming talks.
The report said the United States and Israel destroyed much of Iran’s nuclear program during the shorter conflict of June 2025. Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that his agency had not identified any activity to repair or reconstruct facilities damaged in either of the two wars. Grossi said inspectors had not had access to the facilities to check and the agency had not been able to verify that Iran had not diverted nuclear material. The United States had pushed Iran to allow inspectors to return, but Iran had resisted. One of the remaining sites that had raised concern, Pickaxe Mountain, sits under hundreds of feet of rock.
Seth Jones, a defense and security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Trump could use a fresh round of strikes to declare victory and then reduce America’s involvement in the war, even if the strikes did not deliver a decisive blow. “I don’t think anything is going to permanently set back their program,” Jones said of Iran’s nuclear work, but strikes would allow Trump to “start to walk away and say that you had again set back Iran’s nuclear program this time.”
Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli military intelligence official, said, “I believe one of the biggest mistakes Israel and the United States continue to make is assuming that another round of strikes against Iran, including attacks on critical infrastructure or the elimination of senior officials, could somehow bring down the regime.” Citrinowicz said further bombing could cause the Iranian government to dig in and become more committed to its missile and nuclear programs.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a U.S. think tank, said, “If there is a need to target a growing threat like missile reconstitution, President Trump should make that case publicly and with as much detail as possible.” “Otherwise, at the moment, the U.S. has a winning hand through maintaining sanctions and the blockade. It should stay the course.”