Reuters: US military is preparing for a “long operation in Iran”

Two senior U.S. officials told Reuters the U.S. military is preparing for a “prolonged operation in Iran” that could last several weeks if Trump orders an attack.

The officials also said that unlike Operation Midnight Hammer, which targeted only Iran’s nuclear facilities, “this time it is not just Iran’s nuclear facilities that may be attacked, but also Iranian government agencies.”

At the same time, one of the officials emphasized that the United States is waiting for a response from the Iranians within a certain period of time.

At the same time, US President Donald Trump, when asked by reporters what Iran could do to prevent an attack, replied: “If they offer us the right deal, we will not do it. I say they want to negotiate, but so far they are talking a lot and doing little.”

A source told Reuters that the American delegation, which includes special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, will meet with the Iranian delegation on February 17 in Geneva. Negotiations with the Iranians will take place simultaneously with negotiations that Vitkoff and Kushner will hold with representatives of Ukraine and Russia.

On the evening of Friday, February 13, when Trump was asked why he decided to send the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford to the Middle East, he replied: “We will need it in case an agreement is not reached.” The American president added that he “believes that the negotiations will be successful, but if not, it will be a bad day for Iran.”

The aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford and its strike group, located in the Caribbean, will relocate to the Middle East, where they will join the Abraham Lincoln group already operating there as part of increasing pressure on Iran.

This step looks like an expansion of the policy previously announced by the White House towards “force readiness while maintaining a negotiation channel” with Tehran. The day before, Trump publicly confirmed his intention to send another aircraft carrier group to the region, but the option with George HW Bush appeared more often in initial leaks and discussions. Which, in particular, was reported by The Wall Street Journal.