The New York Times: Thousands of U.S. Air Force and Navy personnel are on standby, with military plans against Iran already in place.

According to a November 5 report by The New York Times, although Trump himself has signaled he does not intend to swiftly resume airstrikes against Iran, such military action remains a realistic possibility. History shows that several former U.S. presidents—facing political crises and forced into a “backup option” position—have resorted to military operations to reaffirm their unchallenged authority as Commander-in-Chief. For instance, after suffering historic losses in the 2006 midterm elections, President George W. Bush accelerated military deployments in Iraq.

Multiple veteran U.S. State Department diplomats, Pentagon officials, and active-duty military commanders with long-standing postings across the Middle East say Trump may now be facing a strategic dead end. On Wednesday local time, Pentagon officials and military commanders confirmed that thousands of U.S. Air Force and Navy personnel—as well as combat forces deployed across more than a dozen warships, multiple Middle Eastern bases, and U.S. domestic military installations—are on standby, ready to launch a large-scale military operation against Iran at Trump’s order.

Sources familiar with the planning added that U.S. and Israeli forces have jointly drafted a detailed operational plan for a short-duration, high-intensity joint strike targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and stockpiles of missiles and drones.