Jacob Magid, Emanuel Fabian and Agencies – Times of Israel Feb 20, 2026

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he was considering a limited military strike on Iran to coax it into accepting a nuclear deal on Washington’s terms as the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, steamed into the Mediterranean.

The threat came as Iran said it would be ready to present its draft of a possible nuclear deal to the US within two or three days, but also claimed that a demand for zero uranium enrichment was not on the table.

Amid the tensions, the Israel Defense Forces said it was on high alert amid expectations that Iran would attack and fire missiles at Israel should the US strike. However, the military reiterated that there were currently no new instructions or restrictions for the Israeli public.

Asked by reporters on Friday if he was looking at a limited strike after The Wall Street Journal reported as much, Trump paused and smiled before responding, “I guess you can say I am considering it.”

However,  as reporters were ushered out of the room at a White House event, Trump appeared to mock the question, suggesting that he wasn’t going to publicly telegraph his plans regarding Iran.

Military buildup continues

Trump’s comments came as the USS Gerald R. Ford entered the Mediterranean Sea, according to maritime tracking data. Trump ordered the carrier strike group to the Middle East last week, as he considers whether to take possible military action against Iran.

Maritime tracking websites showed that the USS Mahan Arleigh Burke-class destroyer — part of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group — was crossing the Strait of Gibraltar on Friday morning.

It is expected take the aircraft carrier several more days to reach the Middle East and be poised to operate against Iran.

Nevertheless, two US officials told the Reuters news agency that US military planning on Iran has reached an advanced stage with options including targeting individuals as part of an attack and even pursuing regime change in Tehran, if ordered by Trump.

 

The military options are the latest signs that the United States is preparing for a serious conflict with Iran should diplomatic efforts fail. Reuters first reported last week that the US military is preparing for a sustained, weeks-long operation against Iran that could include striking Iranian security facilities as well as nuclear infrastructure.

The latest revelations suggest more granular, ambitious planning ahead of a decision by Trump, who has in recent days also publicly floated the idea of regime change in the Islamic Republic.

The US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the planning, did not offer further details on which individuals could be targeted or how the US military could attempt to carry out regime change without a large ground force.

Pursuing regime change would mark another shift away from Trump’s vows during the presidential campaign to abandon what he has called the failed policies of past administrations, which included military efforts to topple governments in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Trump has assembled a massive amount of firepower in the Middle East, but most of the combat capabilities are aboard warships and fighter aircraft. Any major bombing campaign could also count on support from US-based bombers.

In his first term, Trump showed a willingness to carry out targeted killings by approving a 2020 attack on Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, who led the foreign espionage and paramilitary arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, known as the Quds Force.

The Trump administration formally labeled the IRGC a foreign terrorist organization in 2019, the first time Washington had applied the designation to another nation’s military.

Targeted strikes

One of the US officials noted Israel’s success targeting Iranian leaders during its 12-day war with Iran last year. At least 20 senior commanders were killed, including the armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, in an initial strike.

“The 12-day war and Israeli strikes against individual targets really showed the utility of that approach,” the US official said, adding that the focus was on those involved in command and control of IRGC forces.

Still, the official cautioned that targeting individuals requires additional intelligence resources. Killing a particular military commander would mean knowing their exact location and understanding who else might be harmed in the operation.

The White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Israel on high alert

Amid the ongoing tensions with Iran, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin reiterated that while the military was on high alert, there were no still changes to the military’s guidelines for the Israeli public.

“We are monitoring regional developments and are aware of the public discourse regarding Iran,” Defrin said in a video statement. “The IDF is on high alert in defense, our eyes are open in all directions, and our finger is on the trigger more than ever in response to any change in the operational reality,” he says.

“There is no change in the instructions. Please adhere only to the announcements of the IDF Spokesperson and the Home Front Command through official channels only,” Defrin adds.

During the war, Israelis were instructed to remain close to bomb shelters and large public gatherings were restricted.

Regime change

Trump has openly floated the possibility of changing the government in Iran, saying last week it “seems like that would be the best thing that could happen.” He declined to say who he wanted to take over Iran, but said, “there are people.”

While regime change operations have traditionally involved major movement of US ground forces, Trump turned to special operations forces to oust Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, sending them to grab him from his Caracas compound last month in an audacious raid.

At the same time, the US president has also held out hope for diplomacy, saying on Thursday that “really bad things” would happen if no deal were reached. He appeared to set a deadline of no more than 10 to 15 days before the US might take action.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has warned it could retaliate against US military bases in the region and Israel if the US strikes Iranian territory.

The US has bases throughout the Middle East, including in Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

In a letter on Thursday to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Tehran said it would not start any war but that “in the event that it is subjected to military aggression, Iran will respond decisively and proportionately” in its exercise of the right of self-defense.

Iran to submit proposal

Amid the US military buildup, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would be ready to submit its plan for a nuclear agreement to the United States in the coming days.

“The next step for me is to present draft of possible deal to my counterparts in the US. I believe that in the next two, three days, that would be ready, and after final confirmation by my superiors, that would be handed over to Steve Witkoff,” Araghchi said in an interview published online on Friday with the Morning Joe show on US TV network MSNBC.

Araghchi dismissed the notion that Trump had given Iran a deadline.

“Well, I have to say that first of all, there is no ultimatum. We only talk with each other how we can have a fast deal. And a fast deal is something that both sides are interested about,” Araghchi said.

Araghchi also said that US negotiators have not requested Tehran end its nuclear enrichment program, contradicting statements from American officials.

“We have not offered any suspension, and the US side has not asked for zero enrichment,” Araghchi said in the interview.

“What we are now talking about is how to make sure that Iran’s nuclear program, including enrichment, is peaceful and would remain peaceful forever,” Araghchi said.

His comments stand in contrast to information relayed by high-ranking US officials, including  Trump, who has repeatedly said Iran must not be allowed to enrich uranium at any level.

Araghchi’s remarks come after Washington and Tehran concluded on Tuesday a second round of Oman-mediated talks in the Swiss city of Geneva.

The two foes held an initial round of discussions on February 6 in Oman, the first since previous talks collapsed during the 12-day Iran-Israel war last June, in which the US took part by striking Iranian nuclear facilities.

On Thursday, Trump suggested the US would attack Iran again if Tehran does not make a deal with Washington within 10 days, which he later extended to 15.

Washington has repeatedly called for zero enrichment but has also sought to address Iran’s ballistic missile programand its support for Iran’s terror proxies in the region — issues which Israel has pushed to include in the talks.

Western countries accuse the Islamic Republic of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies having such military ambitions but insists on its right to the technology for civilian purposes. However, Iran has enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful purposes.

Trump, who has ratcheted up pressure on Iran to reach an agreement, has deployed a significant naval force to the region, which he has described as an “armada.”

After sending the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and escort battleships to the Gulf in January, he ordered a second carrier, the Gerald Ford, to depart for the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Iranian naval forces this week conducted military drills in the Gulf and around the strategic Strait of Hormuz in their own show of force.

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