Two US officials confirmed on Thursday that a US aircraft carrier group and other military assets will arrive in the Middle East in the coming days, amid Israeli alertness to the possibility of a US military strike on Iran within weeks, according to the newspaper “Israel Hayom.”
US President Donald Trump stated that there is a “large force” heading toward Iran and that he is monitoring the situation in the country closely.
Trump renewed his threats against Iran last Wednesday while participating in the World Economic Forum in Davos, saying he hoped no additional military measures would be taken against Tehran, while simultaneously emphasizing that the United States would act if Iran resumed its nuclear program. He stressed in an interview with CNBC that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
US Warships
US warships, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, along with several destroyers and fighter jets, began moving from the Asia-Pacific region last week as tensions escalated between Washington and Tehran following recent protests in Iran. This was before Trump softened his tone toward Iran and shifted his focus to other geopolitical issues, including his pursuit related to Greenland.
Reuters quoted a US official saying that additional air defense systems are also being considered for deployment to the Middle East. The United States often increases its troop levels in the region during times of heightened regional tensions, a move experts suggest could be purely defensive. However, the US military carried out a massive buildup of forces last summer before its June strikes against sites in Iran, later boasting about its ability to keep its intent to launch the attack a secret.
Strike Within Weeks and Israel on High Alert
In a related context, the Israeli newspaper “Israel Hayom” reported that the Israeli security establishment is preparing for the possibility of a US military strike on Iran, expecting a strong response from Tehran through strikes directed at Israel. According to the newspaper, Israeli estimates suggest that if such an attack proceeds, it is likely to occur within weeks.
The newspaper anticipated that the US military buildup in the region would be complete within the coming week. There is a belief in Israel that if Trump decides to launch a military operation against Tehran, he will execute it sometime between the completion of the military buildup and several subsequent weeks.
Preemptive Strike from Iran
“Israel Hayom” stated that Israeli officials do not rule out the possibility that Iran believes a US attack is inevitable and might therefore attempt to initiate a preemptive strike, based on the conviction that the element of surprise grants a major strategic advantage.
The newspaper added that another possibility is that Trump seeks, through military threats, to reach a nuclear deal with Iran and present it to the American public as a better deal than the one brokered by former President Barack Obama. It continued: “In such a scenario, the United States might refrain from attacking Iran, and what Israeli officials describe as a ‘historic opportunity to topple the Mullahs’ regime’ would be lost.”
Why Was the US Attack Delayed?
Trump had previously stated that he postponed the military strike on Iran because it halted 800 planned executions; however, Israeli officials believe this was merely a pretext.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of committing war crimes—was among those who urged Trump to wait and not launch an immediate attack. “Israel Hayom” cited reports concluding that Netanyahu did so because Israel was not defensively ready. Informed sources told the newspaper that Netanyahu informed Trump that the United States itself was not yet ready and that a limited strike would not be enough to achieve the goal, warning that it could lead to chaos in the Middle East without achieving decisive results.
The Israeli newspaper noted that Trump was convinced of the need to continue building up forces and planning for a possible series of broad strikes that could lead to a meaningful outcome.
Iran Threatens Broad Response
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi threatened the United States last Wednesday, stating that his country “will respond with everything it has if it is attacked again.”
Araghchi made this threat in an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal, in which he said: “Unlike the restraint shown by Iran in June 2025, our powerful armed forces will not have the slightest hesitation in responding with everything we have if we are subjected to a renewed attack.”
He added: “This is not a threat; it is a reality I feel a need to convey clearly because, as a diplomat and a war veteran, I loathe war.” He continued, saying that “any full-scale confrontation will certainly be fierce and will last much longer than the fictional timelines that Israel and its proxies try to sell to the White House. It will surely engulf the region on a wider scale and will have an impact on ordinary people all over the world.”
Trump had revealed that he gave what he described as very strict instructions to “wipe Iran off the face of the earth” if it tried to carry out its threat to assassinate him, adding that the United States would respond to Iran as a whole if Tehran carried out its threat.
United News Network – UNN Arabic
An independent media platform providing reliable news and objective analysis, seeking to promote peace and cultural dialogue around the world, to convey the truth and build bridges of understanding between peoples.
For more news, you can visit our homepage:
