US and Israel Prep to Renew Iran War “Next Week” — NYT
Two Middle Eastern officials said in an interview that Israel and the United States are in their most intense preparations to date to renew the war against Iran, possibly as soon as next week, the Times of Israel reported. Options include conquering Iran’s Kharg Island oil hub and inserting commandos to extract highly enriched uranium buried since the June 2025 strikes. A senior Israeli official told Channel 12: “We’re preparing for days to weeks of fighting and waiting for Trump’s final decision. We’ll know more in 24 hours.”
Iran’s stockpile of approximately 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium is thought to have been buried after the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June 2025. Extracting it via commando insertion would require thousands of supporting forces to create a perimeter, and would risk significant casualties. Pakistani-mediated negotiations supported by China have failed to bridge the gap on Iran’s nuclear programme and post-war control of the Strait of Hormuz. On Friday Trump signalled flexibility, saying he would accept a 20-year suspension of uranium enrichment if Tehran gave a “real” guarantee — an apparent shift from his earlier insistence on a permanent halt.