The White House has asked the Pentagon to prepare attack options against Iran ahead of the November 3 midterms. Two administration officials told The Atlantic no final decision has been made.
U.S. Central Command is drafting the plans; scope and targets remain undecided.
The conflict has now lasted roughly eight months, per The Atlantic's reporting.
Post-midterm strike plans had already been in preparation for weeks at Centcom.
Trump told Time magazine the U.S. has been "stocking up for the last six months."
Why it matters: The planning reflects White House pressure to show progress on a conflict that has weighed on Republican candidates and kept gas prices elevated.
Supporters say a strike would give Trump a political win and signal that gas prices could fall.
Will Walldorf, a Wake Forest University international affairs professor and Defense Priorities senior fellow, told The Atlantic that military action has not lowered oil prices — it has raised them.
The story so far
16 steps · since Oct 7
Trump Says U.S. Won't Attack Iran Before MidtermsYou are here
Left coverage, 15 sources: The left frames the reported planning as a politically desperate and potentially reckless gambit by a president whose war has backfired economically and damaged his party's electoral standing.
