By Indianara Goz
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday morning (Oct. 31) and, the same day, gathered his top military leadership at the White House to review options for resuming large-scale operations against Iran. A decision may wait until after the U.S. congressional elections on Tuesday (Nov. 3), but an attack before the vote has not been ruled out.
Pentagon puts a target list on the table
According to reports cited in the Brazilian source article, the Pentagon presented Trump with a list of strategic targets inside Iran. It includes facilities tied to the nuclear program, underground bases and Kharg Island, the center of the country's oil exports.
Behind the scenes, the U.S. military machine is already moving. The United States has sent additional missile interceptors and relocated troops who were stationed at bases more exposed to possible retaliatory attacks.
Washington officials are also said to have warned Arab governments that host U.S. military installations. The message: a short but highly intense operation. The assessment is that Iran could react to any attack and hit U.S. positions in the region.
'Would I tell you?'
At a Halloween party at Mar-a-Lago, in Florida, Trump was asked about the chance of resuming the war in the coming weeks. He neither confirmed nor denied it. He answered: "Let's say I went back – would I tell you? I can't say that."
The remark keeps the adversary in the dark and all options open.
Diplomacy continues in parallel
While the military scenario is being drawn up, the diplomatic track remains alive. Marco Rubio said on Saturday that the president has not yet made a final decision and still prefers a diplomatic way out.
In the same period, Iranian representatives and Qatari mediators held a new round of contacts in Doha, after more than 12 hours of talks in Tehran on Friday (Oct. 30). Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country reviewed a letter sent by JD Vance to try to reopen dialogue and called it a "positive step."
Tehran warns of a response 'without geographic limits'
On the other side, the tone is hardening. The office of Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said on Saturday that the armed forces have been ordered to prepare for "an immediate and effective response, without geographic limits" if the country is attacked again. The threat increases the risk of a new escalation.
Why it matters
The phone call comes at a delicate moment for Netanyahu. His right-wing bloc did not win a parliamentary majority in last week's elections, which opened negotiations to form a government. He remains in office while the talks move forward.
The coming days will be decisive. If the diplomacy in Doha and Vance's letter bear fruit, war may be avoided. If not, Trump has a target list ready, reinforcements in the region and the option of acting before or after Tuesday's vote.
VDD Analysis
Keeping all options open, with military force in position and dialogue under way, is the logic of deterrence that the conservative camp defends: negotiate from strength, not on one's knees. Trump's message makes clear that peace depends on the Iranian regime understanding that there is a real cost to defying the United States and its allies.
