The US military has drawn up options for renewed attacks on Iran, according to the Washington-based website The Hill, raising the prospect of another round of major fighting in a war approaching its eighth month.
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military → draw → month
Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US forces in the Middle East, has plans ready for follow-up strikes if authorised by the White House, the outlet reported.
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outlet → oversee → House
It also said military planners had prepared several options for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
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planners → say → Hegseth
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forces → worry → lockdown
The report focused on possible attacks after the November 3 US midterm elections.
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report → focus → elections
But President Donald Trump suggested on Saturday that the United States could strike as soon as “tomorrow”, while also holding out the possibility of a “big, beautiful” agreement with Tehran.
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States → suggest → Tehran
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, accused Washington of derailing negotiations but said efforts to reach an agreement should continue.
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efforts → accuse → agreement
With both sides warning of further attacks, could the conflict tip back into full-scale war?
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conflict → warn → war
Here is what we know.
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we → know → what
The latest reporting suggests military preparations are advancing, although it remains unclear which options Trump might approve or when.
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Trump → suggest → options
Earlier this month, Axios reported that the Pentagon had instructed CENTCOM to complete preparations for a possible resumption of major combat operations.
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Pentagon → report → operations
Its sources said a renewed campaign could target Iranian energy facilities, infrastructure and nuclear sites.
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campaign → say → facilities
Those preparations do not amount to an order to attack.
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preparations → amount → order
The decision ultimately rests with Trump, whose public statements continue to leave room for both military action and negotiations.
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statements → rest → action
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, The New York Times reported that the US and Israel have drawn up joint plans for an attack on Iran after the midterm elections.
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US → report → elections
The reports come alongside US warnings about alleged Iranian threats to American personnel overseas.
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reports → come → personnel
An intelligence memo sent on Friday by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran had “substantially increased efforts to target US personnel”, with lethal plots reaching “advanced stages” in the Middle East and elsewhere.
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plots → send → East
The Department of State has ordered staffing reductions at several regional embassies amid the warnings.
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Department → order → warnings
The publicly reported memo did not identify specific targets or establish when any alleged attacks might occur.
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attacks → report → targets
Trump has added to the uncertainty.
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Trump → add → uncertainty
At a rally on Friday, he said Washington “may do another little Epic Fury”, referring to the codename of the US-Israeli military operation against Iran that began on February 28.
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that → say → February
On Saturday, he declined to disclose the timing of any possible attack while suggesting one could come as early as Sunday.
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one → decline → Sunday
Julie Norman, associate fellow at Chatham House, told Al Jazeera the preparations served both as short-term posturing and a possible longer-term military objective next month.
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preparations → tell → posturing
“With Trump, I think he is always keeping options on the table, but I think this particular drawing up of plans is an immediate posturing deterrent, but also a very real option after the midterms,” she said.
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she → think → midterms
It comes as the US is deploying a third aircraft carrier strike group, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, along with roughly 10,000 additional soldiers and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Middle East by the end of November.
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US → come → November
How has Iran responded?
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Iran → respond → ?
Tehran has combined calls for further negotiations with warnings that renewed US attacks would bring a wider response.
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attacks → combine → response
“We were having negotiations, the cowards [Americans] messed everything up,” Pezeshkian said in remarks broadcast on Saturday, before adding that efforts to conclude the agreement should continue.
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efforts → have → agreement
Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf will also miss the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in New Delhi, according to the Iranian Embassy in India.
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speaker → miss → India
The embassy cited “unforeseen circumstances” without elaborating.
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embassy → cite → circumstances
On Sunday, Iran’s army also said it had shot down a US-developed LUCAS drone over the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
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it → say → agency
The Reuters news agency has reported, quoting Iranian security officials, that Tehran has drawn up plans to target undersea communications cables in the Gulf in the event of a resumption of US and Israeli attacks.
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Tehran → report → attacks
The incident followed Iranian claims that seven oil tankers had caught fire or sustained damage in and around the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week, while on Wednesday, Iran also announced what it describes as a shift towards an “offensive” military doctrine, warning that countries hosting bases used in US attacks could become targets.
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countries → follow → attacks
“Our defence doctrine was previously defensive; we used to say that if a country attacks us, we will respond.
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we → use → us
Now we say that if a country attacks us, we will both respond and launch an offensive,” Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman Hossein Mohebi said.
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Mohebi → say → offensive
The warning raises the prospect of a confrontation spreading further across the region, with energy infrastructure and countries aligned with Washington potentially exposed.
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infrastructure → raise → Washington
“Iran is also drawing up its own target lists to include energy infrastructure and US-aligned states,” Norman said.
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Norman → draw → infrastructure
“So I would say both parties are certainly very prepared for another round of escalation and projecting preparedness to each other.”
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parties → say → other
October has become the worst month for attacks on ships since the war began in February, with more than 120 attacks reported so far.
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attacks → become → February
Would another attack serve Trump’s interests?
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attack → serve → interests
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
