The US administration's position on a pre-emptive strike on the Islamic Republic has changed in the past few hours and moved towards supporting such a strike, according to sources in the White House. A correspondent for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on the evening of Wednesday 21 October 2026, citing these sources, that the main reason for this shift is the weight Donald Trump has given to the intelligence assessments of US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth after his meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu.
The report relies solely on anonymous sources and has not so far been confirmed by the Pentagon, the US State Department or the Israeli government. Donald Trump wrote in a message on Thursday 8 October that the United States would not attack the Islamic Republic before the 3 November midterm elections and would maintain the naval blockade of its ports. The new report, if accurate, would mean that promise has been set aside.
Signs of military readiness in the region
The report was published on a day when signs of military readiness in the region increased. Last week Pete Hegseth met Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel, and on Monday dozens of Israeli fighter jets and tankers flew close to Iran's border; US officials suspect the aim was to provoke the Islamic Republic's air defences. The US State Department also ordered non-essential staff and their families in Saudi Arabia to leave on Wednesday.
It had been reported earlier that Benjamin Netanyahu had prepared a multi-day attack on the Islamic Republic for the weekend of 10 October, but Donald Trump's opposition stopped it. The aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt is also on its way to the Middle East, and once it arrives three US carrier strike groups will be present in the region.
The Islamic Republic between blockade and the threat of war
In recent months the Islamic Republic has faced a naval blockade, a halt to oil exports from Kharg Island and inflation that Donald Trump on Wednesday put at 301 percent, while its officials speak of readiness for "all-out war". Market analysts have warned that reports of this kind have changed many times and should be treated with caution until there is official confirmation or a visible movement of forces.
White House sources say Trump has moved closer to a pre-emptive strike on the Islamic Republic after Hegseth's report.
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