The U.S. Military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters, in ‌what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries.

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. U.S. Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will hold negotiations with Iran on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) in Geneva, with representatives from Oman acting as mediators. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned on Saturday (February 14, 2026) that while Trump’s preference was to reach a deal with Tehran, “that’s very hard to do.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Trump has amassed military ‌forces in the region, raising fears of new military action. U.S. officials said on Friday (February 13, 2026) 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. Mr. Trump, speaking on Friday (February 13, 2026) after a military event at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, openly floated ‌the ⁠possibility of changing the government in Iran, saying it “seems like that would be the best thing that could happen.” He ⁠declined to share who he wanted to take over Iran, but said, “there are people.”

Also Read | War clouds hovering around Iran despite U.S. talks

“For 47 years, they’ve been talking and talking and talking,” Mr. Trump said. Mr. Trump has long voiced skepticism about sending ground troops into Iran, saying last year, “the last thing you want to do is ground forces,” and the kinds of U.S. firepower arrayed in the Middle East so ​far suggest options for strikes primarily by air and naval ‌forces. In Venezuela, Mr. Trump demonstrated a willingness to rely also on special operations forces to seize that country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, in a raid last month.

Asked for comment on the preparations for a potentially sustained U.S. military operation, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said: “President Trump has all options on the table with regard to Iran.”

“He 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,” Ms. Kelly said.

The Pentagon declined to comment.

The United ​States sent two aircraft carriers to the region last year, when it carried out strikes against Iranian nuclear sites. However, June’s “Midnight Hammer” operation was essentially a one-off U.S. attack, with stealth bombers flying from the United States to strike Iranian nuclear ⁠facilities. Iran staged a very limited retaliatory strike on a U.S. base in Qatar.

Risks increasing

The planning under way this time is more complex, the officials said.

In a sustained campaign, the U.S. military could hit Iranian state and security facilities, not just nuclear infrastructure, one of the officials said. The ‌official declined to provide specific details.

Experts say the risks to U.S. 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.

The same official said the United States fully expected Iran to retaliate, leading to back-and-forth strikes and reprisals over time.

The White House and Pentagon did not respond to questions about the risks of retaliation or regional conflict. Mr. 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 “be very traumatic, very traumatic.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has warned that in case of strikes on Iranian territory, it ‌could retaliate against any U.S. Military base.

The U.S. maintains bases throughout the Middle East, including in Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Israeli Prime ​Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Mr. Trump for talks in Washington on Wednesday (February 11, 2026), saying that if an agreement with Iran were reached, “it must include the elements that are vital to Israel.”

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.

On Saturday (February 14, 2026), Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi said U.S. military intervention ⁠in Iran could save lives and urged Washington not to spend too long negotiating with Tehran’s clerical rulers on a nuclear deal.

The exiled son of Iran’s toppled shah told Reuters in an interview there were signs that the Iranian government was on the brink ‌of collapse and that an attack could weaken it or accelerate its fall.

“We are hoping that this attack will expedite the process and the people can be finally back in the streets and take it all the way to the ultimate regime’s downfall,” said Mr. ​Pahlavi, who is based in the United States and has lived outside Iran since before his father was toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. 

Published – February 15, 2026 07:14 am IST

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Marine One on South Lawn of the White House in Washington. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

President Donald Trump speaks at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, on October 13, 2025, in Jerusalem.
| Photo Credit: AP

Iran on Thursday called Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election an opportunity for the United States to reassess past “wrong policies”.

Trump, who is set to return to the White House in January after defeating US Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election, had pursued a “maximum pressure” strategy on Iran during his first term.

“We have very bitter experiences with the policies and approaches of different US governments in the past,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

Trump’s win, he added, was a chance “to review previous wrong policies”.

Iran and the United States have been adversaries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which overthrew the Western-backed shah, but tensions peaked during Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021.

Before Trump was declared the winner on Wednesday, Iran had dismissed the US election as irrelevant.

“The general policies of the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran are fixed,” said government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani.

“It doesn’t matter who becomes president. Plans have already been set so that there is no change in people’s livelihood,” she added.

During his first term, Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and imposed harsh sanctions on the Islamic republic.

In 2020, under Trump’s presidency, the United States killed revered Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general Qasem Soleimani in an air strike on Baghdad airport.