US readies for potential weeks-long Iran military op – Reuters

If launched, a campaign against the Islamic Republic could escalate into “a far more serious conflict” than previously seen, according to the news agency 

The US military is preparing for a sustained, multi-week operation against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, Reuters has reported, citing two administration officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

Washington has intensified military pressure on Tehran amid negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program. The Islamic Republic has recently said that it is ready for both diplomacy and military confrontation.

A military campaign against Iran could escalate into “a far more serious conflict” than previously seen between the two nations, the officials told Reuters on Saturday. 

As part of a probable campaign, Washington could carry out strikes on Iranian state and security facilities, not just nuclear infrastructure, one of the officials said, providing no specific details on the plans.

The sources specified that Washington “fully” expects Tehran to hit back, triggering “back-and-forth strikes and reprisals over a period of time.”

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Officials from the two countries met in Oman earlier this month in their first negotiations since last year’s Israeli and American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Both sides described the talks as positive and agreed to hold further consultations. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has, however, reiterated that Tehran’s nuclear program is peaceful and ruled out abandoning uranium enrichment.

RT sources in the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the next round of talks will take place in Vienna on Tuesday.

Earlier this week, Araghchi told RT that the US had lost trust after bombing his country in the middle of negotiations in June 2025. The foreign minister stressed that Iran is ready for military confrontation if diplomacy collapses.

Last month, NBC News reported, citing sources, that Trump wanted any military action against Iran to be “quick and decisive” and to avoid a prolonged conflict.

Trump’s advisers reportedly couldn’t guarantee that an American military strike would lead to change in leadership in the Islamic Republic and raised concerns that the US may not have all the assets in the region to guard against potential response.

READ MORE: Iran prepared for both diplomacy and war – foreign minister

Earlier this week, the US president described regime change in the Islamic Republic as “the best thing that could happen.” In an effort to increase pressure on Tehran, Trump has also warned that what he called a massive armada of US ships had been moved toward the country.   

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has described the escalation between the US and Iran as “potentially explosive” and called for a peaceful resolution to the tensions.