Senior US officials told the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal that President Donald Trump is leaning toward resuming major combat operations against Iran, though no final decision has been made. Pentagon options presented to Trump include strikes on nuclear facilities, energy infrastructure, bridges and other economic sites, as well as assaults on Iranian controlled islands, while the USS George Washington strike group restocks with long range land attack missiles and bunker buster bombs in the Arabian Sea. Asked Saturday about intelligence reports of increased Iranian targeting of US personnel, Trump said Iran's leaders are "bad people" who "killed 75,000 protesters."
The Iranian confirmation follows an Oct. 23 memo from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio warning that Tehran's lethal plots against Americans abroad have reached "advanced stages." Those threats, alongside Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure, prompted the US to pull back troops from regional bases, order nonemergency staff and families out of Saudi Arabia, and cut embassy staffing in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the UAE.