US official says Washington is preparing for renewed fighting with Iran
The warning, reported by N12, follows a buildup of US forces in the Middle East and the collapse of a mediated deal over the Strait of Hormuz.
Published
Map: The Gulf and Hormuz, marking Strait of Hormuz
A US official has told N12 that Washington is preparing for the possibility of renewed fighting with Iran.
The US has been moving a third aircraft-carrier strike group and up to 10,000 additional troops into the Middle East. The deployment followed the passing of Iran's deadline for a US reply on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which went unanswered.
A mediation effort has already failed once this cycle. Qatar's proposal linking a Hormuz reopening to a blockade swap collapsed within hours of being described as positive on September 29. US officials separately called the odds of a deal extremely slim. Qatar floated a new proposal the next day, seeking concessions from both Washington and Tehran, but the US deadline had already passed without a response.
Oil and equity markets have been moving on the standoff. Brent crude rose above $100 a barrel on Thursday as tensions mounted, and MSCI's Asia-Pacific gauge slipped 0.4% that day, with Japan's Topix down 0.9% as the oil jump held.
The official's language marks a step beyond the troop and carrier buildup already under way, and it comes just after the Qatari-mediated swap proposal fell apart within hours of being called promising. Taken together, the buildup now reads less like leverage for talks and more like genuine contingency planning for conflict, which leaves the Hormuz-linked supply risk already pushing Brent above $100 intact. Officials preparing for renewed fighting argue against the kind of deadline-driven de-escalation this standoff has repeatedly failed to produce.