A renewed offensive could include US and Israeli attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear facilities, Axios reported. Nuclear negotiations remain stalled, and Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have held two calls in recent days. The White House previously requested options for strikes before the midterms to demonstrate progress and help lower gasoline prices, The Atlantic reported. Even supporters of limited strikes acknowledge they would not, by themselves, lower prices before Election Day, restore safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz or bring Iran to the negotiating table.
Roughly 9,000 sailors and Marines are heading to the Middle East aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and Makin Island amphibious group. Their arrival could temporarily put three carriers and two amphibious groups in the region, though some incoming forces are intended to replace deployed units. The US also sent two additional Patriot missile batteries to protect a Saudi oil facility and a Qatari gas facility against possible Iranian retaliation if fighting resumes, Axios reported.