File image.
A potential United States war with Iran would be a long, multi-week campaign, sources told the Axios news site on February 18, with a White House official putting the chances of a strike in the coming weeks at 90 percent.
Just a day earlier, the second round of nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran was held in Geneva, with mediation from Oman.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said after indirect talks with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, that the two sides reached an understanding on the main “guiding principles” of a new nuclear agreement. However, Axios’ report indicates that a war may be closer than a deal.
The source who spoke with Axios said that the war will likely start with a joint U.S.-Israeli operation, even larger than the 12-day Israeli-led bombing campaign last June.
Other sources told the American news website that the war could come earlier than most people expect, and could be far larger than many anticipate.
Trump “is getting fed up,” an adviser to the U.S. The president told the website. “Some people around him warn him against going to war with Iran, but I think there is 90% chance we see kinetic action in the next few weeks.”
Meanwhile, two Israeli officials were quoted as saying that Israel is preparing for a war to break out “within days,” and that the country is advocating for an operation aimed at toppling the regime.
In the last three days, the U.S. military buildup in the Middle East — which began when Trump first threatened Iran with military action over a wave of violent protest last month — gained momentum.
Flight tracking monitors revealed the deployment of 18 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter jets, 12 F-22 Raptors stealth fighter jets, 48 F-16 Fighting Falcons fighter jets, six E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning And Control Systems (AWACS) aircraft, one one E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) aircraft, and even one U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane.
In addition, maritime data revealed that the USS Gerald R. Ford has already arrived near the Strait of Gibraltar, which means it could join the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East in under a week, not two to three weeks as previously estimated.
In addition to Axios’ report, Israeli military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin suggested that a confrontation with Iran could be imminent.
“Last week I allowed myself to fly to the Munich Security Conference. I would think twice about flying [abroad from Israel] this weekend,” Yadlin told Channel 12 news on February 18.
“We are much closer than we were before, but I remind you — a superpower does not go to war in a matter of days. There is a diplomatic path that must be exhausted,” said Yadlin, who now heads a national security consultancy.
Yadlin added that “many oppose the attack. The Pentagon is not clear what they want it to achieve. The president is very determined. The statement that all options are on the table is based on a credible military threat, which comes alongside the preparations off the coast of Iran and in the skies.”
While Iran is negotiating with the U.S., it is clearly expecting a war. This was clear with the drills held by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the strategic Hormuz Strait.
Axios’ report and Yadlin analysis line up with the preparations the U.S. and Israel have been making. The cost of the military buildup on its own indicates that a decision to go with war against the Islamic Republic has been already made by the Trump administration. Tehran will likely have to offer major concessions to make Washington take a step back.
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smh 🤦 this will create tensions here on usa 🇺🇸 soil. i can feel it already l.
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given the premise of this read. who needs a job when you should instead be thinking about what might be your last vacation?
it’s going on 2 months since i’ve been unemployed.
count your blessings. the last steady work i had was 12 years ago. and i owe much of it to refusing the status quo when truth was more important to me than the lies being told.
this operation is going to go so bad for the zios/yankees nothing like they’re anticipating.
trump “is getting fed up,” … as alien$ with tiny hats wave in his face vhs and cdrom media ready to “launch” if he doesn’t take the u.$. to war with iran -again!… fify
fackyeah. we’re gonna frack the mullahs then we gonna do the orcs and then finally we’ll do the chinks nice and slow with big bukkaki and creampie.
still dreamin gulf war, desert storm/ iraqi freedom?… with that said. if you are still in uniform or know someone who is… may you find eternal happiness where you are headed next.
wonder if the chinese and russian subs are waiting for them.
thanks to the s-f contingent that removed all 5 of these posts but decided to bring them back for posterity.
war was always on the way. same with russia. they will not relent. it’s all a ploy to buy time.