Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and Donald Trump's special envoy for Syria, said in an online conversation on Friday 23 October 2026, during a trip to the Persian Gulf states, that a US strike on the Islamic Republic could take place as early as this weekend. Asked whether a strike over the weekend was possible, he said it absolutely was. The remarks came a few hours after Donald Trump spoke at a rally in Florida of the possibility of another military operation against the Islamic Republic.
In the same conversation, Barrack added that the US president is still ready for a deal and that Washington has been at the negotiating table for months. According to him, if the Islamic Republic continues to threaten the world, America's allies and the Persian Gulf states, there will be consequences, but those consequences will not be regime change. He stressed that Trump has no interest in regime change in Iran and asked what would happen the day after. Barrack himself said he has no direct role in the Iran file.
Donald Trump's reaction to Barrack's remarks
Responding to the remarks, Donald Trump said Barrack is apparently a powerful man and that, if so, he himself knows nothing of such a plan. Trump had earlier said a new strike would not happen before the US congressional midterm elections on 3 November. The New York Times has reported that the US and Israeli militaries have prepared a short but intense three- to five-day operational plan for after these elections, targeting the Islamic Republic's energy facilities, nuclear sites and missile and drone arsenal.
US forces build up in the region
At the same time, according to US officials, the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group, together with the amphibious ship Makin Island and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, are heading for the Middle East and will add about 10,000 more sailors and Marines to the region by the end of November. Military flight trackers have also reported the arrival of a large number of refuelling aircraft at bases in the region and in Europe. US Central Command has announced that the naval blockade of the Islamic Republic's ports reached its 100th day on Thursday 22 October.
The US State Department denied reports of a large-scale movement of diplomatic staff in the Middle East and said it had only ordered non-essential staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia because of Houthi attacks. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, who faces elections on Tuesday 27 October, has repeatedly spoken of toppling the Islamic Republic; a position at odds with Barrack's remarks on regime change.
The US ambassador to Turkey called a strike as early as this weekend possible, but Trump said he knew of no such plan.
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