Middle East On Boil Again? Iran Threatens "Zero Hour", Trump Deploys Planes

The United States is sending dozens of refuelling planes to Israel in the coming days as the country prepares to launch a wider military campaign against Iran, according to a report by Axios.

The report cites senior American and Israeli officials, who say that US President Donald Trump could order the attacks in the coming days.

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Meanwhile, the IRGC Navy Command has said in a statement that the movement and military equipment of the US forces, patrolling the Middle East to ensure the naval blockade cuts off Iran's economic lifeline, are "under the surveillance" of the Islamic Republic's naval units. 

"The Americans are drawing closer by the moment to the zero hour of an operation by Iran's Armed Forces against CENTCOM naval units in the region's waters," the statement that was carried by Iran's state television said.

In a warning, the statement ended with, "Wait and see".

US To Operate Refuelling Planes From Israel's Ben Gurion Airport

To prepare for the attack, the United States will be sending its refuelling planes to Israel. It currently has about 30 military refuelling aircraft at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport and a similar number of aircraft at Ramon Airport, which is located in the southern part of the country.

Ben Gurion is where the US will operate its refuelling planes from because the other air bases in the region are more prone to getting attacked by Iran and will be less safe for the American planes.

Currently, Iran is hesitant to attack Israel because that could trigger a massive counter-response.

Trump's White House Situation Room Meeting

Trump held a high-level meeting in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday night, where senior officials discussed several military options, such as attacking Iranian power plants and carrying out attacks against nuclear facilities to bury its uranium deeper underground. There are other options such as striking Pickaxe Mountain, a heavily fortified underground site believed to have links to Iran's nuclear programme.

Although Trump has not finalised a decision, the report says that he is willing to escalate the war enough to ensure that the Iranian regime reopens the Strait of Hormuz and also accepts his terms on the nuclear issue.

A report by the Wall Street Journal said that Trump has also been consulting Vice President JD Vance, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine for his next move.

The United States on Thursday struck Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz for the fifth day in a row. It has been targeting the city of Bandar Abbas, which is the centre of Revolutionary Guards activity in the Strait of Hormuz. A senior US official told the publication that ammunition, supplies and reinforcements are being transported via Bandar Abbas to the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran Claims It Destroyed Many US Jets

Earlier today, Iran claimed that it struck several US military aircraft stationed in Jordan with ballistic missiles and drones in retaliation for overnight US strikes on multiple places in the Islamic republic that claimed the lives of at least eight people.

In a statement, Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said they have destroyed "several US refuelling aircraft and fighter jets" and caused "serious damage to many more". The Guards also claimed that they struck a US base in Syria, however, US forces left the base months ago.

Since the interim ceasefire agreed to last month has collapsed, the region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks by the US and Iran as they battle for control of the strait.