New York Times: US and Israel have drawn up plans to resume strikes on Iran

The New York Times reported that the U.S. and Israeli militaries have developed specific plans to launch new strikes on Iran following the upcoming U.S. midterm elections on November 3, according to U.S. officials and others familiar with the deliberations over these plans. It added that “as planning for a short but intense military operation advances, both militaries have intensified their drills, conducting joint air sorties to practice attack maneuvers.” The newspaper noted that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv several days ago to discuss launching new strikes, as reported by the newspaper citing U.S. officials. According to the newspaper, the targets are likely to include Iran’s energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and its missile and drone arsenal. Officials believe that another broad round of attacks could push the Iranian economy to the brink of collapse and force the country to make diplomatic concessions after nearly eight months of conflict. Meanwhile, the U.S. website Axios reported that dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets conducted an air sortie on Monday, reaching close to the Iranian border. The operation took place more than 1,287 kilometers from the Israeli entity, a week before the Israeli elections and on the same day Hegseth met Netanyahu at Israel’s Ovda Air Base; the sortie was not linked to Hegseth’s visit. While some Israeli and U.S. officials said the sortie was not unusual and aimed at deterring Iran, it could have led to miscalculation, potentially provoking an Iranian response and reigniting the war.