US forces in the Middle East have reportedly completed preparations for a new strike option against Iran and could launch an operation within 96 hours if President Donald Trump gives the order, according to BlockTempo. The report said the potential action could be large in scale. It also stressed that the claim has not been publicly confirmed by the White House or the Department of Defense and does not mean hostilities have already started.
Citing unnamed sources, the report said the US military presence already deployed in the region is sufficient to carry out a possible strike mission. Current and former officials familiar with operational planning discussions reportedly said the central issue is not whether Trump would order action, but when.
Possible operation seen as broader than earlier limited strikes
According to the report, a new round of action may no longer be limited to strikes on Iranian radar systems, missile launchers and other military assets that can be restored quickly. That pattern of periodically degrading an opponent’s capabilities is often described as "mowing the lawn."
BlockTempo said that since Trump halted a full-scale combat operation earlier this year, the US military has reportedly continued with similar limited strikes. One US official was quoted as saying, 「This will be a large-scale operation.」
CNN had also reported that the US military developed new strike options that include the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, with possible targets including energy infrastructure and nuclear-related facilities. Those options would still require presidential authorization.
Timing may fall before year-end, with higher odds after the midterms
Officials familiar with internal discussions reportedly believe an order could come at any point before the end of this year, though it is more likely after the US midterm elections. Trump had previously said publicly that he would not attack Iran before the midterms, but the report noted that his Iran strategy has shifted multiple times, keeping post-election moves in focus.
Al Jazeera, citing US media outlets including The Hill, said US Central Command, or CENTCOM, has prepared follow-up strike options and submitted them for review by the defense secretary. Axios had also reported that the Pentagon asked CENTCOM to be ready to resume large-scale operations. The report said neither point should be read as proof that Trump has already issued an order.
CNN’s analysis, as cited by BlockTempo, said Trump separated the timing of any attack from election day while still leaving room to restart strikes after the vote. Oil prices and the cost of war have become important variables in the Republican midterm outlook, the report added.
Oil and Bitcoin both in focus
The report said rising US-Iran tensions are first reflected in oil and broader risk-asset pricing. As of midday Taipei time on Oct. 26, Brent crude futures were around $109.6, easing after recently approaching a six-month high. If a large-scale strike does take place after the election, markets are likely to focus on shipping capacity through the Strait of Hormuz and the risk of another jump in oil prices.
At the same timestamp, Bitcoin was trading near $79,900 and was down a little more than 1% over the past 24 hours. BlockTempo said crypto markets often swing between a safe-haven narrative and a high-risk-asset narrative during periods of geopolitical tension. A sharp rise in oil can weigh on risk appetite, and capital may briefly move into gold or cash instead of automatically lifting BTC.
Report says planning details remain unconfirmed
BlockTempo said statements from anonymous officials should still be treated as unconfirmed planning information. It advised investors to watch official White House statements, CENTCOM developments and verifiable oil-market data rather than place trades based only on a single secondhand account.
The report ultimately pointed to two issues drawing the most attention: the US military’s apparent readiness to act once ordered, and the uncertainty created by the political calendar. For crypto and other risk markets, the key variables remain whether Trump authorizes an operation that goes beyond the "mowing the lawn" approach after the midterms, and whether oil prices again become a trigger for inflation concerns and shifts in risk appetite.