President Donald Trump has not made a final decision on whether to authorize an attack, saying Sunday on Fox News that it is “getting to be decision time” on whether to “finish it off” or make a deal. Qatar is leading mediation efforts backed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey to persuade Tehran to grant UN inspectors access to damaged nuclear sites in exchange for US sanctions relief, according to Axios. However, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Qatar has not presented a new proposal and that Tehran’s refusal to show flexibility on the nuclear issue remains unchanged, following earlier denials by the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency of an Al Arabiya report that Iran offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the US lifted its naval blockade.

The latest warnings follow a Wall Street Journal report that Washington told several Gulf Arab states to brace for a “short, intense” post-election military campaign, news that pushed Brent crude up 1.3% past $115 a barrel. To prepare for a potential conflict and Iranian counterattacks, the US military is flying an additional Patriot missile defense battery from Fort Bliss in Texas to Israel, pulling troops from vulnerable Middle East bases, restocking munitions, and sending a third carrier strike group and a Marine expeditionary unit to join roughly 20 US warships in the region next month. Two US officials also told CNN that forces in the region are ready to launch major operations within 96 hours of an order from Trump.