US forces ready to strike Iran within 96 hours of Trump order

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US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in Sparrows Point, Maryland, on October 6. cnn.com

US forces in the Middle East are prepared to launch major military operations against Iran within 96 hours of an order from President Donald Trump, two US officials tell CNN. The target list developed by the Pentagon and Central Command spans Iranian energy infrastructure, military sites and nuclear facilities. One official's description of the planned scope: 'It will be a big effort.'

The operations would go beyond what planners call 'mowing the lawn' — strikes on radars and launchers that Iran can quickly rebuild — which has been the pattern since Trump halted full combat operations earlier this year. Some current and former officials describe a go-order as a question of when, not if, most likely after the US midterm elections and before the end of the year. Others add the caveat that Trump has leaned toward major action before and backed off at the last moment. The White House declined to comment. A senior Pentagon official supplied a statement instead: 'The Department is a planning organization, and its job is to develop and execute military options ordered by the President.'

The rest of the government is reducing its exposure before any order exists. American embassies across the Middle East are expected to quietly pull personnel in the coming days; the embassy in Riyadh is so far the only facility under ordered departure, but other missions are expected to receive similar directives, and those that do not will be scaled down under a personnel cap. Nonessential military personnel slated for the next troop rotation have been told they are no longer deploying. An unclassified October 23 memo from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Iran has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel, with plotting at advanced stages in the Middle East and certain other countries.

Intelligence assessments expect Iran and the Houthis to retaliate immediately against American personnel and facilities across the region, and potentially beyond, if the US or Israel strikes first — while judging both unlikely to escalate preemptively. Iranian forces are also now more familiar with US tactics, making it harder to destroy all the intended targets; the list Centcom has developed runs from military sites and nuclear facilities to the energy infrastructure that funds the state. The US blockade of Iran continues. On Sunday, Adm. Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, visited the Strait of Hormuz.