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Israeli officials believe US may strike Iran in coming days — Axios

According to sources, the United States has begun redeploying offensive and defensive weapons to the Middle East in case US President Donald Trump orders a strike

WASHINGTON, January 16. /TASS/. Israeli officials believe the United States may strike Iran in the coming days, the Axios portal reported, citing sources.

Sources noted that Washington’s current plan includes attacks on Iranian security forces’ facilities, which the Israeli side considers insufficient. US officials, in turn, noted that the option of military intervention remains possible if executions of rebels resume in Iran.

According to Axios’s US sources, the United States has begun redeploying offensive and defensive weapons to the Middle East in case US President Donald Trump orders a strike. Specifically, the aircraft carrier strike group USS Abraham Lincoln is being deployed to the region, along with additional air defense systems, fighter jets and possibly submarines.

Earlier, the AFP agency reported, citing a Saudi official, that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman "led efforts to talk [US President Donald] Trump out of an attack" and to "give Iran a chance to show good intention." Simultaneously, the Wall Street Journal reported that the United States may use Tomahawk cruise missiles deployed on US destroyers in the Middle East to strike Iran.

NewsNation journalist Kellie Meyer also reported that the United States has already sent an aircraft carrier strike group from the South China Sea, which is expected to arrive in the Middle East within one week.

Unrest in Iran began on December 29, 2025, when street protests triggered by a sharp fall in the Iranian rial exchange rate spread across most major cities. Authorities reported the deaths of 40 law enforcement officers. According to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, armed terrorists appeared among the demonstrators on January 8. The Iranian authorities blamed Israel and the United States for organizing the unrest. US President Donald Trump had warned that he was seriously considering using force against Iran.