A new CBS News report detailed that President Donald Trump is on the verge of “potential strikes” against Iran, and they could come as soon as this weekend.
As talks between Iran and the U.S. have continued with no apparent progress on dismantling the nation’s nuclear program, American military assets have been building up in the region. Now, CBS News cited sources who revealed Trump has been told by top national security officials that “the military is ready for potential strikes on Iran as soon as Saturday.”
The president has reportedly not made a final decision on whether to strike or when, but “conversations have been described as fluid and ongoing,” according to the report.
Scoop from @CBSNews: Top national security officials have told Trump the military is ready for potential strikes on Iran as soon as this weekend, but the timeline for any action is likely to extend beyond Saturday or Sunday, sources say. Trump has not yet made a final decision.…
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) February 18, 2026
“Over the next three days, the Pentagon is moving some personnel temporarily out of the Middle East region — primarily to Europe or back to the United States — ahead of potential action or counterattacks by Iran if the U.S. were to move ahead with its operation, according to multiple officials,” the outlet reported.
Further, according to one of the sources, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are planning to meet in about two weeks for discussions about the issue.
“Iran was discussed in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday, a U.S. official and a senior military official told CBS News. All military forces deployed to the region are expected to be in place by mid-March,” CBS News reported.
At a White House briefing on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said “Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump and with his administration,” adding that although there are “many reasons and arguments that one could make for a strike against Iran,” the president would prefer diplomacy.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reacted to the buildup of military forces by posting an image of the USS Gerald Ford on social media.
“The US President constantly says that the US has sent a warship toward Iran. Of course, a warship is a dangerous piece of military hardware,” read the post on X. “However, more dangerous than that warship is the weapon that can send that warship to the bottom of the sea.”
Axios’s Barak Ravid noted in a report this week that “sources believe the campaign would be a joint U.S.-Israeli effort” against Iran and that “a U.S. military operation in Iran would likely be a massive, weeks-long campaign that would look more like full-fledged war than last month’s pinpoint operation in Venezuela, sources say.”
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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