A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The U.S. military is reinforcing its positions in the Middle East, suggesting it may be readying plans for more heavy fighting in Iran in the coming weeks.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
In a moment, we'll discuss what this all means with retired General Joseph Votel, who led U.S. forces across the Middle East. We begin with the news.
MARTÍNEZ: To break this all down, we're joined by NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre. So, Greg, we heard yesterday about the potential plans between the U.S. and Israel maybe to launch a major strike or major strikes from someone who was briefed on them and talked to NPR on the condition of anonymity. What more do we know today?
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Yeah. A few bits and pieces. But perhaps the only person who knows for sure what will happen is President Trump, and he's being intentionally vague. And as we've seen previously in this war, Trump often changes his mind. The U.S. military will prepare for one possible action only to have it called off by Trump, and he'll go in a different direction.
What we do have are clear signs of preparations for a possible attack. The U.S. is sending a third aircraft carrier to the Middle East. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a low-key visit to Israel this week, where he met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Some U.S. State Department officials and family members are moving out of Saudi Arabia. So collectively, this points to the growing possibility, but not the certainty, of military action.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. So if there was going to be action, would it be before or after the November 3 midterm elections?
MYRE: Yeah. A, it seems much more likely afterward. Trump wants lower oil prices, and military action is going to cause the price to jump. In fact, today, Brent crude oil is trading at $114 a barrel - this is the highest since May - just based on the talk of possible action. Israel has elections on Tuesday, and Netanyahu is battling for his political survival. This is another complicating factor. And the U.S. military pieces aren't all in place. That third U.S. aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, won't be in the region for another week or so.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. How is Iran preparing for the possibility of more fighting?
MYRE: So Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said yesterday that his country was prepared for both diplomacy and war. Iran continues to fire on oil tankers going through the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Iran claimed Thursday that seven were hit. Now, Trump pushed back, saying this just wasn't true. It was just an attempt to drive up oil prices.
Now, Iran says it could also target a range of facilities in Arab Gulf states. And as we know, Iranian missiles and drones have hit key oil and gas hubs, airports, commercial areas and have caused significant damage. Iran would also try to attack U.S. military bases and ships. And we've seen recently these damage reports by the U.S. government that are much higher than the Pentagon originally let on - that Iran hit 81 planes and more than a dozen U.S. military bases.
MARTÍNEZ: I guess the largest overall question is - would more fighting end the war?
MYRE: It's just impossible to predict if this round would be different than the previous ones. The U.S. and Israel still have the firepower to inflict additional heavy damage, but there's been no sign that Iran is on the verge of making major concessions - really, to the contrary. Iran is making demands. It wants formal control over the Strait of Hormuz. It wants U.S. troops out of the region. For the U.S., there are two critical issues that haven't changed since the early days of the war - a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a deal on Iran's nuclear program.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's NPR's Greg Myre. Greg, thanks a lot.
MYRE: Sure thing, A. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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