Senior U.S. military officials warned key Middle East allies on Friday to prepare for a possible strike on Iran as multiple reports said Washington and Jerusalem now view military action as decided, with one source saying the only remaining question is timing, not whether an attack will occur.
According to an exclusive report published Friday by Drop Site News, senior U.S. military officials informed the leadership of a key U.S. ally in the Middle East that President Donald Trump could authorize strikes on Iran as early as this weekend, and the ally was told operations could begin as soon as Sunday if Washington moves forward.
The report said U.S. war planners are considering attacks not only on Iran’s nuclear, ballistic-missile, and conventional military infrastructure, but also strikes aimed at senior leadership — particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — as part of a broader effort to weaken or collapse the regime.
A former senior U.S. intelligence official cited by the outlet said the thinking inside the Trump administration is that a successful strike on Iran’s leadership could be followed by Iranians returning to the streets, potentially accelerating the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
A separate exclusive report published Friday by Iran International reinforced that assessment, citing a Western source familiar with U.S.-Israeli coordination who said decision-making circles in Washington and Tel Aviv have moved past diplomacy and now view military action as effectively inevitable.
“The decision has been made. This will happen,” the source told the outlet, adding that the only unresolved issue is when an appropriate operational and political window opens — a window that could emerge in the coming days or over the next several weeks.
The source said current discussions are no longer focused on reaching a new agreement, but instead on delivering what was described as an “unprecedented” operation intended to deliver a decisive blow that would maximally weaken — and potentially collapse — Iran’s governing structure.
Iran International reported that U.S. and Israeli officials view the present moment as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” with a significantly higher willingness to accept risk than during last summer’s 12-day war, when broader escalation was deliberately avoided.
Those assessments surfaced as fresh indicators pointed to accelerated preparations and heightened regional tension.
On Friday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a public warning after Iran announced that the IRGC would conduct a two-day live-fire naval exercise in the Strait of Hormuz beginning Sunday — an international maritime chokepoint critical to global energy flows.
CENTCOM urged the IRGC to avoid “unsafe and unprofessional behavior,” warning that any actions threatening freedom of navigation or endangering U.S. forces, regional partners, or commercial shipping would not be tolerated, as American forces remain postured to ensure the safety of personnel, vessels, and aircraft operating in the region.
Hours earlier, the Associated Press (AP) reported that satellite imagery shows Iran has begun constructing roofs over damaged buildings at the Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities — sites struck during last summer’s conflict — a move experts said could be intended to obscure efforts to assess or recover any remaining nuclear materials.
The report said the construction marks the first major visible activity at the bombed sites since the strikes and comes as Iran continues to bar international inspectors from accessing its nuclear facilities.
The emerging picture outlined across the reports dovetails with the background disclosed Thursday in U.S. media.
A New York Times report said President Trump has been briefed on an expanded set of military options against Iran, including additional strikes on nuclear and missile infrastructure, leadership targets, and potential raids inside Iranian territory, though no final decision has been made.
A CNN report published the same day said Trump has been weighing broader military options as talks stalled, citing U.S. intelligence assessments that Tehran has moved to rebuild damaged facilities and continue enrichment activity deeper underground — concerns that reinforce the satellite imagery reported Friday. The deliberations have also been shaped by private warnings from regional partners.
According to a report published Friday evening, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman warned in a private Washington briefing that if President Trump does not follow through on his threats against Iran, the regime would emerge stronger, with four people in the room telling Axios that failing to act would “only embolden the regime.”
The warning marked a sharp departure from Saudi Arabia’s public posture in recent weeks, which has emphasized caution and opposition to escalation, including statements from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman indicating the kingdom would not allow its airspace to be used for a U.S. strike.
Reports said the administration continues to frame military pressure as leverage to force Tehran to accept U.S. terms — including a permanent end to uranium enrichment, limits on ballistic missiles, and an end to support for regional proxy groups — demands Iran has repeatedly rejected.
Speaking on Friday, Trump confirmed the United States has already communicated its expectations directly to Iranian leaders.
Asked whether Tehran faces a deadline to make a deal, Trump said, “Only they know,” while tying the growing U.S. naval presence explicitly to Iran and warning earlier this week that “time is running out” as a massive armada moved into the region.
The escalation comes amid Iran’s sweeping mass-arrest campaign to crush renewed nationwide protests and as U.S. intelligence assessments describe the regime’s grip on power as historically weak following last year’s strikes and internal unrest.
Iranian officials have warned that any U.S. strike — particularly one targeting leadership — would trigger immediate retaliation across the region, including against Israel, even as Tehran signals it will no longer telegraph its responses.
With two exclusive reports now asserting that military action is no longer a matter of if but when, and with U.S. forces visibly positioned, regional allies warned, and diplomatic off-ramps narrowing, the Trump administration appears to be approaching a decisive inflection point.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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