The planning follows Trump's Saturday warning to reporters that the US could strike Iran as soon as "tomorrow" or reach a "nice, big, beautiful agreement" to permanently prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. Trump said Iranian leaders want a deal, though he questioned whether they would honor it, after stating at a Fort Myers, Florida rally on Friday that Washington "may do another little Epic Fury."
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian blamed the US for the breakdown of interim agreement talks as diplomatic efforts in Istanbul produced no breakthrough and Tehran threatened to attack regional infrastructure and Gulf states if struck. US intelligence reports indicate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has preserved much of its missile capability through underground facilities and mobile launchers, while former US President Barack Obama said the war has driven up fuel prices and given Iran "veto power over the Strait of Hormuz."