How Trump can smash Iran after the mid-terms – from missile strikes to bombing nuclear facilities as the US gathers 20,000 sailors and marines in the region

A Trumpian air of menace is beginning to coalesce over the Middle East.

After months of inaction, Donald Trump now appears to be gearing up for a fresh wave of strikes against Iran.

The US President has massed one of the largest American naval armadas in recent history in the Arabian Sea.

Two of his mightiest aircraft carriers, the USS George Washington and USS George W Bush, are already lurking, accompanied by a heavily-armed flotilla of 17 warships, which includes the USS Boxer amphibious readiness group.

A third carrier strike group, led by the $4.5billion (£3.3billion) USS Theodore Roosevelt, is also steaming towards the Middle East from the Philippine Sea, accompanied by the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit amphibious assault force.

The battle group is expected to arrive in a matter of days, bringing the total number of American sailors and marines in the region to more than 20,000. 

Combined, all three aircraft carriers can transport about 150 warplanes, including F-35 stealth jets and F/A-18 Super Hornets. 

The navy previously had three carrier strike groups in the Middle East in April for the first time since 2003. 

But the most recent build-up points to a possible onslaught after the US midterms close on Tuesday. President Trump previously suggested he would not launch attacks before this date. 

A fresh volley of threats by the American leader in recent days have helped to cement concerns he is readying to resume his war, which would plunge the Middle East back into chaos. 

Things escalated on Friday when the President appeared to suggest his war against Iran was about to reach its climax.

‘It’s going to get wrapped up soon,’ Trump said in an interview with Kansas City radio station KCMO, without specifying how.

‘We need a guarantee there’ll never be a nuclear weapon,’ he added.

Claims Tehran is developing nukes have been disputed, with US intelligence assessments – including from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) – previously concluded Iran had no such weapons.

Despite this, Trump is believed to still be toying with the idea of unleashing fresh air strikes on Iran, which has so far stubbornly resisted previous onslaughts.

‘Do I finish it off, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal? It’s getting to be decision time,’ the 80-year-old billionaire told Fox News earlier this week.

Earlier, during a rally in Florida last week, Trump told supporters ‘we may do another little Epic Fury’, in reference to the US bombing campaign.

In one of the strongest signs yet that Washington could be readying for another offensive, Gulf allies have been told to prepare for a ‘short, intense military campaign’, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A White House official said: ‘We do not comment on sensitive military plans that may or may not exist. President Trump keeps all options on the table to ensure that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.’

Among the main targets Washington could seek to attack include the Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility hidden in central Iran.

The secretive underground site was previously struck by the US in 2025, with B-2 stealth bombers hitting it with bunker-busting bombs after taking off from Whiteman Air Force Base and flying across the Atlantic.

President Trump has already indicated the site is already on his hit list, telling Fox News last week: ‘We can read the badge on somebody’s shirt from space, okay? We know exactly what’s going on at Pickaxe Mountain. We know the other three [nuclear sites] are obliterated.’

The build-up of naval firepower, combined with dozens of the world’s most sophisticated fighter jets, means the US would also be able to launch huge salvos of cruise missiles at Iran. 

Such an arsenal could be unleashed upon the Islamic regime’s electricity network in an effort to plunge Iranian cities into darkness. 

The President previously indicated he would strike Iran’s most valuable power plants, starting with ‘the biggest one first’ during the opening exchanges of the war. 

Trump never followed through with the threat but could seek to should he resume his bombardment after the midterms.  

The country’s largest energy hub is the Damavand Combined Cycle Power Plant on the outskirts of Tehran province.

Also known as the ‘Pakdasht’ plant, it can produce around 2,900 megawatts, which is enough electricity to power several major cities.

Other large Iranian power plants include the Kerman site in the southeast of Iran, with a capacity of about 1,910 megawatts, and the Ramin power plant in the Khuzestan, which can produce about 1,890 megawatts of power.

Military facilities, including those building drones and missiles, as well as major arms depots could also be hit.

America previously struck Iran’s remote ‘Eagle 44’ underground air force base, located deep in a mountainous area of the country’s south, at the end of March. 

The bombardment left deep impact craters at and near the tunnel entrances to aircraft shelters, which are hidden under a mountain ridge. Runways were also damaged, disabling them. 

However, reports emerged last week that Iran had managed to carry out a significant number of repairs, with runways having been fixed. 

The site, and what remains of Tehran’s air force and drone fleet, could be used to launch limited attacks against the American fleet, meaning it might be one of sites US top brass would seek to eliminate. 

Any such air attack by the US would likely be supported by Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was planning to resume attacks on Iran before the Israeli elections but was blocked by the country’s military. 

Tehran has repeatedly warned it would retaliate, striking a wide variety of targets across the region, including US military bases and military and civilian infrastructure in Gulf states. 

In recent days, the US military has flown a number of Patriot systems to beef up its missile defences after supplies were depleted during the opening exchanges of the war.

A flurry of C-17 military cargo planes have also reportedly flown into the Middle East and into Israel, which open intelligence analysts have linked to the Patriot battery movements. 

It has also moved troops off bases deemed vulnerable to a counter-attack by Iran, officials familiar with the movement told the Wall Street Journal.

Earlier this month the US withdrew all of its B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers from RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, after a suspected Iranian sabotage plot was foiled. 

As the President continues to weigh up his options, he has reportedly received a rare, in-person briefing from one of America’s top military commanders. 

Admiral Brad Cooper, who heads up Central Command and oversees all operations in the Middle East, briefed Trump on Thursday, updating him on the conflict and spelling out potential next steps, the Wall Street Journal claimed. 

The senior naval officer is also said to have met with General Dan Caine, the Joint Chiefs Chairman, and JD Vance, the Vice President, for a separate high-level war briefing. 

The meetings of senior US politicians and military chiefs lend additional weight to speculation Trump was preparing for a fresh round of strikes on Tehran. 

American troops are prepared to launch a new, potentially major, military operation against Iran ‘within 96 hours of receiving’ an order from President Trump, two US officials told CNN. 

It’s believed the scope of any impending onslaught would go beyond previous efforts targeting radars, launchers and other Iranian tech that can be quickly reconstituted. 

‘It will be a big effort,’ one of the officials told CNN.

Back in the States, American soldiers have been drilling the grim job of preparing mass graves to bury fallen troops.

The exercise, carried out at the US Army’s camp in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, last week, saw engineers carving out trenches to act as temporary burial sites in the event of a war.

Such mass graves have not been since the Korean War. More recently, the US has had air superiority over its adversaries in the likes of Iraq and Afghanistan, meaning dead soldiers could be transported out of war zones rapidly.

The move suggests the US is putting a growing importance on relearning such macabre skills, which haven’t been needed in decades.

During the drill, American soldiers constructed multiple rudimentary trenches capable of holding 20 dead soldiers each. The plots were dug out in just over an hour.

‘This exercise allowed us to take a critical look at how we respect, honor, and systematically manage our fallen in a high-intensity conflict,’ said Sgt 1st Class Delbert Ruede.

‘If we went to war tomorrow, we would be making this up as we went along. What we are doing here is taking a scientific, field-tested approach so that we can maintain positive control and respectfully care for our fallen.’

While evidence increasingly suggests US strikes look to be on the horizon, efforts are still continuing for a diplomatic solution to be found.

In recent weeks, Qatari officials have been acting as intermediaries between Washington and Tehran as the two warring powers attempt to come to a peace deal.

Diplomats from the oil-rich Middle Eastern state reportedly delivered a draft proposal by the US to finally draw hostilities to a close on Friday.

A source familiar with the ongoing diplomacy effort told CBS News that it followed a previous draft presented by mediators last Sunday.

The Iranians were expected to provide a response to the latest effort to avert a resumption of military action at some point this weekend.

Negotiations have increased in recent days, with the US Vice President credited for having pushed for new talks. 

Iran has also continued to discuss its own proposal to end the war, saying it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days and provide a route to permanently ending hostilities.

However, the proposal was quickly dismissed by Trump last month.  

In a social media post earlier this week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragachi said Tehran ‘continues to give diplomacy a chance to succeed’.

But he warned that any ‘Israel-instigated military misadventure’ in the Gulf would have a ‘devastating impact’ on international markets.

Meanwhile, Gulf nations have appealed for calm from both Washington and Tehran, with the United Arab Emirates’ Foreign Ministry calling on both sides to ‘exercise wisdom and pursue political solutions to help contain tensions’.

The conflict has cost $47.1billion so far, according to Pentagon estimates. At the same time, global oil prices have skyrocketed.   

America is also believed to have expended about half of its stockpile of Tomahawk cruise missiles, half its Patriots and almost all its long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems and precision-strike missiles.