{"id":128149,"date":"2026-02-18T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=128149"},"modified":"2026-02-15T09:48:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T07:48:05","slug":"18-00-109","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=128149","title":{"rendered":"US Military Preparing for Potentially Weeks-Long Iran Operations"},"content":{"rendered":"<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.algemeiner.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/www.reunion68.com\/Biuletyn\/img\/algem.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"35%\" \/><\/a><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #000080;\"><span><strong><a style=\"color: #000080; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.algemeiner.com\/2026\/02\/14\/us-military-preparing-for-potentially-weeks-long-iran-operations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">US Military Preparing for Potentially Weeks-Long Iran Operations<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Reuters <\/strong><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><em>and <\/em><\/span><strong>Algemeiner Staff<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr style=\"height: 15px; background: #d0e6fa; width: 100%;\" \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.algemeiner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ir2026-02-14T153602Z_1_LYNXMPEM1D0AN_RTROPTP_4_IRAN-CRISIS-PROTEST.jpeg\" width=\"100%\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><em>FILE PHOTO: An Iranian woman holding a poster depicting Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei walks under a large flag during the 47th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Tehran, Iran February 11, 2026. Majid Asgaripour\/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS\/File Photo<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The US military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, two US officials told Reuters, in what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The disclosure by the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the planning, raises the stakes for the diplomacy underway between the United States and Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will hold negotiations with Iran on Tuesday in Geneva, with representatives from Oman acting as mediators. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned on Saturday that while Trump\u2019s preference was to reach a deal with Tehran, \u201cthat\u2019s very hard to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Meanwhile, Trump has amassed military forces in the region, raising fears of new military action. US officials said on Friday the Pentagon was sending an additional aircraft carrier to the Middle East, adding thousands more troops along with fighter aircraft, guided-missile destroyers and other firepower capable of waging attacks and defending against them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Trump, speaking to US troops on Friday at a base in North Carolina, openly floated the possibility of regime change in Iran, saying it \u201cseems like that would be the best thing that could happen.\u201d He declined to share who he wanted to take over Iran, but said \u201cthere are people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">\u201cFor 47 years, they\u2019ve been talking and talking and talking,\u201d Trump said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Trump has long voiced skepticism about sending ground troops into Iran, saying last year \u201cthe last thing you want to do is ground forces,\u201d and the kinds of US firepower arrayed in the Middle East so far suggest options for strikes primarily by air and naval forces. In Venezuela, Trump demonstrated a willingness to rely also on special operations forces to seize that country\u2019s president, Nicolas Maduro, in a raid last month.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Asked for comment on the preparations for a potentially sustained US military operation, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said: \u201cPresident Trump has all options on the table with regard to Iran.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">\u201cHe listens to a variety of perspectives on any given issue, but makes the final decision based on what is best for our country and national security,\u201d Kelly said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The Pentagon declined to comment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The United States sent two aircraft carriers to the region last year, when it carried out strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">However, June\u2019s \u201cMidnight Hammer\u201d operation was essentially a one-off US attack, with stealth bombers flying from the United States to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran staged a very limited retaliatory strike on a US base in Qatar.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">RISKS INCREASING<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The planning underway this time is more complex, the officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">In a sustained campaign, the US military could hit Iranian state and security facilities, not just nuclear infrastructure, one of the officials said. The official declined to provide specific detail.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Experts say the risks to US forces would be far greater in such an operation against Iran, which boasts a formidable arsenal of missiles. Retaliatory Iranian strikes also increase the risk of a regional conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The same official said the United States fully expected Iran to retaliate, leading to back-and-forth strikes and reprisals over a period of time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The White House and Pentagon did not respond to questions about the risks of retaliation or regional conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Trump has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and crushing of internal dissent. On Thursday, he warned the alternative to a diplomatic solution would \u201cbe very traumatic, very traumatic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards have warned that in case of strikes on Iranian territory, they could retaliate against any US military base.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The US maintains bases throughout the Middle East, including in Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Trump for talks in Washington on Wednesday, saying that if an agreement with Iran were reached, \u201cit must include the elements that are vital to Israel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Iran has said it is prepared to discuss curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions, but has ruled out linking the issue to missiles.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr style=\"height: 15px; background: #d0e6fa; width: 100%;\" \/>\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"content-alignment\">\n<div id=\"watch-description\" class=\"yt-uix-button-panel\">\n<div id=\"watch-description-text\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p><em>Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion&#8217;68,<\/em><em><br \/>\nani te\u017c webmastera Blogu Reunion&#8217;68, chyba ze jest to wyra\u017anie zaznaczone.<br \/>\nTwoje uwagi, linki, w\u0142asne artyku\u0142y lub wiadomo\u015bci prze\u015blij na adres:<br \/>\n<\/em><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"mailto:webmaster@reunion68.com\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">webmaster@reunion68.com<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr style=\"width: 100%;\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US Military Preparing for Potentially Weeks-Long Iran Operations Reuters and Algemeiner Staff FILE PHOTO: An Iranian woman holding a poster depicting Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei walks under a large flag during the 47th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Tehran, Iran February 11, 2026. Majid Asgaripour\/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS\/File Photo [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[33,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128149"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=128149"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128167,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128149\/revisions\/128167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=128149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=128149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=128149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}