President Trump said Thursday that the U.S. military could resume full-scale strikes against targets in Iran after the November midterm elections, as British authorities arrested a British Iranian national in a suspected terror plot near a military base in southwest England over the weekend.
Mr. Trump told Time magazine it’s “possible” that U.S. strikes against Iran could resume after next month’s elections if the two sides can’t reach a peace deal. He also indicated that the U.S. has replenished its supply of advanced weapons over the past few months.
“We’re stocking up at levels we’ve never done before,” Mr. Trump said in an interview published Thursday, but he declined to comment on which targets U.S. forces would hit in a new campaign.
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He added that “annihilating” Iran would actually “bring peace to the world.”
A few hours later, the Wall Street Journal reported that a third aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group carrying up to 10,000 service members, has been dispatched to the Middle East, and is estimated to arrive in November.
Mr. Trump and administration officials have repeatedly said the first phase of the Iran war, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, accomplished its goal of crushing Iran’s formal military and navy. Subsequent U.S. strikes have targeted missile launching sites and radar facilities in the southern part of the country, supposedly used to target commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s nuclear facilities, which U.S. and Israeli airstrikes hit in June 2025, were also a primary target during the early stages of the war. Eliminating Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium, and theoretically build nuclear weapons, has remained the central goal of the Trump administration.
“I have to put out the fire in the Islamic Republic,” Mr. Trump said. “Let nut jobs have nuclear weapons, you’ll see some real problems. I had no choice. I’d do it again today.”
His comments come after diplomacy between Tehran and Washington restarted after the United Nations General Assembly last week. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country delivered a proposal that would have instituted a ceasefire and reopened the Strait of Hormuz after seven days.
Mr. Trump rejected that proposal, insisting it did not offer enough.
Administration officials have remained publicly confident that the U.S. military’s efforts to guide ships through the strait have reduced Iran’s leverage during negotiations. Mr. Trump has implied that nothing short of an Iranian promise to never pursue a nuclear program will get the U.S. to lift its naval blockade.
Iran has indicated it would respond forcefully to U.S. military strikes on its territory and has suggested that regional energy infrastructure would be a target.
Earlier this week, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, said that if his country is unable to sell its oil, then no one in the region will, adding that “no infrastructure will be safe.”
Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebbi, spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said last month that Iran’s counterattack to any U.S. military strikes would introduce new weapons and targets.
During the early stages of the war, Iran targeted U.S. military installations across the Middle East and launched drones and missiles at energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf. Iran’s allies in Iraq and Yemen have also dealt significant damage to energy infrastructure in the region.
News of a possible uptick in fighting comes as British authorities investigate Iran’s possible involvement in an alleged terror plot at RAF Fairford over the weekend.
Counterterrorism officers on Thursday arrested a 27-year-old British Iranian national on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack in connection with the incident at RAF Fairford. The suspect was arrested in central London, and police searched two properties in the area.
The arrest comes just days after authorities arrested five British nationals outside of RAF Fairford on Sunday. The men were arrested after locals near the base noticed several men get out of large vans wearing masks.
Police found an accelerant, gasoline, in the vans but did not find any explosives.
The suspects were released Monday on bail, outraging and confusing some U.S. officials. British law enforcement officials have asserted that the investigation remains ongoing and that the released suspects would remain under surveillance.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the BBC on Wednesday that his government has “strong indications” that Iran played a part in Sunday’s incident.
Iranian officials have said during the course of the war with the U.S. that any base, either in the Middle East or beyond, that hosts U.S. forces is a legitimate target for attacks. The RAF Fairford base has hosted long-range U.S. bombers used during the U.S.-Israeli war.
Iran has firmly denied any involvement in planning an alleged terror attack at RAF Fairford. Mr. Araghchi said Wednesday that the fact that British authorities released the terror suspects on bail “says it all.”
“You’re barking up the wrong tree,” the Iranian foreign minister posted on X.
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