US said preparing options to renew Iran war, including plan for 3 days of intense strikes
US President Donald Trump has had the Pentagon draw up new plans for three days of intensive strikes on Iranian military and energy sites, focusing on its missile and drone arsenals, The New York Times reported on Thursday Vice President JD Vance reviewed the plans with national security officials at Camp David last Friday, according to the report. The Axios news site had also reported on the development of new war plans This will be the sixth set of plans presented to Trump for major combat against Iran or the Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen in recent months, the Times said. Trump has rejected all the earlier plans, though the US has carried out limited retaliatory strikes on Iranian targets in the wake of attacks on shipping and American allies in the region. The Times cited US officials briefed on the proposal as saying the newest plans call for some three days of intensive strikes, focusing on Iran’s missile and drone arsenals, which have reportedly been largely rebuilt since the start of the war. Targets could also include energy sites and command centers for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The report noted that the US will soon have three aircraft carriers in the Middle East for the first time since 2003 after the Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group left US shores to join two others already in the region. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms On Thursday, Trump said Washington would not attack Iran before the November 3 US midterm elections, asserting that the two countries were having “productive” talks about ending the seven-month-old war. This appeared to contradict a Channel 12 report that US officers told Israel to prepare for a massive attack on Iran within three weeks, a timespan that ends shortly before the midterms. Demonstrators attend a pro-government gathering at a square in Tehran, October 8, 2026. (AP/Vahid Salemi) Separately, Trump said Thursday that comments he made, that Iran could “take out” California cities, had been misinterpreted and that he was instead referring to the need for people to tolerate higher gas prices. Advertisement Trump made the remarks at a political rally in Nebraska on Monday as he spoke about Americans’ wartime economic sacrifices. “Remember, with the war, it’s just artificial, it’s a little bit high, it’s a small price to pay,” he said then. “It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, for keeping our country safe. They could take out a city. Let ’em take out Los Angeles, let ’em take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay, and it’s going to be over with very soon.” California’s Democratic leaders and some fellow Republicans quickly rebuked the remarks. “What I was talking about was that a temporary increase in the price of Gasoline is a small price to pay for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump wrote in a post to his Truth Social platform. “If you want to see a big price, can you imagine what it would be like if they bombed San Diego and/or Los Angeles?” he continued, as he professed his love for both cities. US President Donald Trump watches a video play on a screen at a campaign rally at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas on October 7, 2026. (AP/Alex Brandon) The US and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28 in a bid to destroy the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and destabilize the regime. Iran responded with deadly strikes on Israel and on Arab states that host US bases, as well as by obstructing the Strait of Hormuz, which carried about a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas shipments before the conflict. The US responded by blockading Iranian ports. The fighting entered a shaky truce in April, when armed conflict between Israel and Iran largely stopped. But since then, US-Iran peace talks mediated by Qatar and Pakistan have appeared to stall as Iran refuses US demands to dismantle the nuclear program and fully open the strait. Help us report truthfully on social media As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos. This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. 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Sign in to stop seeing this Most Popular 1 Anti-Israel groups urge boycott of Andrea Bocelli’s Jordan concert; he played Tel Aviv in 2022 2 ‘Traitor’: Anti-Zionist protesters rage at Mamdani at Oct. 7 coexistence event 3 Dubai repatriation flights nixed after UAE pulls landing permit for Israeli carriers 4 PM’s ex-military secretary: Netanyahu prioritized political survival when he could have saved hostages’ lives 5 Op-ed: Three weeks to elections As with Oct. 7, so too with Sept. 30’s flydubai attack: A failure to prevent obvious deadly threats, and a refusal to take responsibility 6 Israel, UK announce last-minute deal that downgrades East Jerusalem consulate 7 US military told to prepare for potential resumption of Iran strikes — reports 8 Netanyahu’s former military secretary alleges attempt to alter October 7 records read more: Israel & the Region Donald Trump Pentagon US military 2026 US-Israel war with Iran Iran Iranian missiles Iranian drones Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC Los Angeles San Diego If you’d like to comment, join The Times of Israel Community. 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