President Donald Trump threatened to initiate a new military operation against Iran if Tehran does not agree to negotiate, while the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has attack plans ready to be executed as soon as authorization is received from the White House, according to an investigation by The Hill.
Tensions are rising at a time when diplomatic negotiations have been stalled for weeks, and the conflict, active since the Epic Fury operation on February 28, 2026, has now been ongoing for more than eight months without resolution.
During a rally in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday, Trump was explicit: «We might do another little Epic Fury. Or they will accept. If they are smart, they will say, "Let's get to work." I doubt it, because they might not be smart.»
The U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria and Iraq, Tom Barrack, was even more straightforward in an interview published that same day: “Could there be an attack this weekend? Absolutely. The president has been clear: he is open and available for an agreement. And we have been at the table for months and months.”
Trump, however, downplayed the words of his envoy: "That was my ambassador... he's a pretty powerful man, I suppose. If that's the case, I don't know anything about it."
On Wednesday, the president had already warned that Washington "is not negotiating with Iran" and that "something is going to happen one way or another quite soon."
Anonymous sources cited by The Hill confirmed that CENTCOM has several attack options prepared and presented to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who visited U.S. troops in the Middle East alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last Monday.
The Iran expert from Eurasia Group, Gregory Brew, deemed it "quite likely" that the U.S. will resume military strikes after the midterm elections in November: "The Iranians are not yielding; they show no flexibility. They have been holding on to their negotiating position for weeks".
On his part, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian blamed Washington for the failure of the provisional agreement reached in June, stating that "the Americans ruined everything," although he left the door open for resuming talks.
Iran threatens that any retaliation will be "larger, more aggressive, and different" from previous ones, with targets that would include U.S. bases and ships, pipelines, refineries, and Gulf allies. Brew also warned that Iranian officials have explicitly indicated that "submarine cables in the Persian Gulf, artificial intelligence data centers, and technological infrastructure will be considered targets" in the event of a new attack.
The intelligence alert worsens the situation: the Director of National Intelligence, Jay Clayton, warned in a memorandum to Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Iranian plans to attack U.S. officials have reached "advanced stages" both in the Middle East and in other countries.
The U.S. maintains more than 50,000 military personnel in the region and around 20 warships, with a third strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt on its way, in addition to 4,000 additional marines deployed aboard the USS Makin Island.
The price of Brent oil surpassed 117 dollars per barrel on Friday, its highest level since May, reflecting the uncertainty caused by the possibility of a new escalation in a region that controls critical energy routes.
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