News · 26 October 2026 · By Mayura Rajapaksha
US forces could launch Iran operations within 96 hours of Trump order, CNN reports
CNN reports US forces could act within 96 hours of a presidential order, but Trump had not made a final decision on an Iran offensive.
US forces in the Middle East could launch major operations against Iran within 96 hours of a presidential order, CNN reported, citing two US officials.
That is a reported readiness window, not an announced attack date. President Donald Trump had not made a final decision, according to the report published on 25 October 2026.
Featured archive photo: USS Roosevelt in the Arabian Sea on 30 December 2025. Photo: U.S. Navy / Indra Beaufort, DVIDS. The photograph does not establish the ship’s current location or involvement in these plans.
What CNN reported about the plans
The officials told CNN that enough US forces were already in the region. Potential operations could extend beyond strikes on radar systems and launchers that Iran could replace.
Planners at US Central Command and the Pentagon had developed options involving military sites, nuclear facilities and energy infrastructure, CNN reported in a dispatch carried by KEYT.
No final decision or confirmed timetable
Donald Trump’s June 2025 official portrait. Photo: Daniel Torok / White House, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
Some officials considered action after the US midterm elections more likely, although an order could come before year-end, CNN said.
The White House declined to comment. A senior Pentagon official told CNN that the department develops military options and executes those ordered by the president.
The operational details remain claims attributed to CNN’s sources, rather than a publicly announced decision to launch a new offensive.