Rising threats and fear between Washington and Tehran are pushing the two countries back toward full-scale war, according to a new report from The New York Times. Officials inside the Trump administration fear Iran is in the advanced stages of planning attacks against US personnel, the paper reported, while Iranian leaders are convinced the United States and Israel are preparing a third major attack in 16 months.
The report describes a conflict entering a new phase, where political calendars in Washington and Jerusalem, and the chance that each side is looking for a pretext to act, are driving tension higher. The United States and Israel have already drawn up plans for renewed strikes against Iran after the US midterm elections on November 3, US officials told the Times earlier in the week. President Donald Trump has said the United States will not attack Iran before the midterms.
According to the Times, a memo from the director of national intelligence said agencies had received intelligence that Iran had substantially increased efforts to target US personnel in the region. The warnings follow a US order for non-emergency government employees to leave Saudi Arabia, as attacks from the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have worsened.
Iran has vowed retaliation for any new attack. The Revolutionary Guard has warned that an American strike would meet a broad response, and Iranian officials have told reporters Tehran remains open to talks if the US lifts its naval blockade. For now, both sides are holding their positions, and the paper reports that what happens after the midterms will decide whether the standoff turns into open war again.
Source: The New York Times
