Trump sends secret diplomatic message to allies as thousands of American troops prepare for fresh blitz on Iran

Sign up HERE to our DC Insider newsletter - your guide to what's rocking Washington, rattling the White House and setting tongues wagging on the Hill Published: 08:36 EDT, 28 October 2026 | Updated: 08:56 EDT, 28 October 2026 The Trump administration has quietly warned Gulf allies to brace for a short, ferocious military campaign against Iran as soon as the midterm elections are over.The message went to several Gulf Arab governments through diplomatic and military channels, The Wall Street Journal reported. American forces in the region are already gearing up, restocking munitions and readying bombers and fighter jets for strikes.An extra Patriot missile defense system is being flown to Israel from Texas, while US troops have been moved off Middle East bases left exposed to Iranian fire.Trump, who has promised not to attack before the midterms, has not given the final order but is leaning toward a massive post-election strike that could hit Iranian infrastructure and nuclear sites. ‘We may do another little Epic Fury,’ the president told a rally last week, referring to the punishing US and Israeli bombing campaign in the spring, before adding: ‘Or they’ll agree.’Tehran has vowed through public and private channels to answer any attack with strikes on economic and civilian targets across the region.Middle East mediators are now scrambling to revive peace talks before the bombs fall again, but Washington’s insistence on discussing Iran’s nuclear program and Tehran’s tough preconditions have left them with little to show. Israel has drawn up its own plans and targets, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still pushing for renewed strikes to weaken Iran and ultimately bring down the regime The Pentagon is leading the effort behind drawing up Trump's post-midterm strikes on Iran An extra Patriot missile defense system is being flown to Israel from Texas, while US troops have been moved off Middle East bases left exposed to Iranian fireAnother aircraft carrier strike group and a Marine expeditionary unit are poised to join the armada of roughly 20 warships already in the region next month, though some vessels could rotate out.Israel has drawn up its own plans and targets, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still pushing for renewed strikes to weaken Iran and ultimately bring down the regime.The White House said it would not comment on ‘sensitive military plans that may or may not exist’, insisting Trump keeps all options on the table to stop Iran ever getting a nuclear weapon.A return to bombing would be a sharp pivot from the economic squeeze, in which sanctions and a naval blockade have choked off Iran’s oil sales for months, shut down much of its air travel and cut into overland trade.The war, now in its eighth month, had cost an estimated $47.1 billion by mid-October, not counting damage to US bases, according to figures shared with lawmakers.The war has driven up gas prices and other everyday costs, piling pressure on Republicans with the midterms just days away.Polling shows voters in key swing states turning against the GOP, a shift that could cost the party its majorities in both the House and Senate.Around $29 billion of that bill went on munitions such as Tomahawk and Patriot missiles. Tehran has vowed through public and private channels to answer any attack with strikes on economic and civilian targets across the region A return to bombing would be a sharp pivot from the economic squeeze, in which sanctions and a naval blockade have choked off Iran’s oil sales for months An oil tanker burns after being hit by an Iranian strike in the ship-to-ship transfer zone at Khor al-Zubair port near Basra, Iraq, late Wednesday, March 11Iran made similar threats before the war began, then followed through by hitting US bases, diplomatic facilities, energy sites and airports throughout the Gulf.Any fresh retaliation would come as America and its Gulf partners race to restock missile defenses drained by repeated Iranian barrages.Tehran still holds hundreds to thousands of missiles and is assembling new ballistic missiles from stockpiled parts, a pace of rebuilding that has alarmed Israeli officials.