Israel has ordered its military to step up preparations for a possible strike on Iran, while senior US officials including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have relocated to military bases over Iranian threats against their lives.
Israel's security cabinet, chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, issued the directives on Wednesday evening, Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported. The broadcaster said the orders "could lead it to carry out activities that could trigger a war."
Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot was tasked by President Isaac Herzog with forming a new government. Netanyahu lost his parliamentary majority in October elections. Eisenkot warned Netanyahu not to deploy the military "without a direct and immediate threat" until the next government is formed.
In Washington, Bessent moved to a military base in recent weeks. Threats against his life attributed to Iran reached what a senior administration official described as "beyond the advanced stage," Fox News reported. Two people familiar with the matter confirmed the move to Reuters.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are also residing at military bases, according to the Associated Press. White House senior adviser Stephen Miller has moved to a protected residence.
The relocations follow warnings from Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei that Tehran would strike US bases in Europe if they were used to attack Iran. "If the US launches another war against Iran, every military base involved in the aggression, from West Asia to Europe, will be a legitimate target," Rezaei said in a social media post. "No safe distance. No safe haven. No immunity," he added.
Bessent has led the administration's "Operation Economic Outcast," an economic isolation campaign against Tehran launched in August.
President Donald Trump has said he is prepared to resume war if Qatar-mediated diplomacy fails. He has also stated that large-scale military engagement is over. New attacks are "highly unlikely" after Republican losses in the November 3 midterm elections.
Secretary of State Rubio said the economic pressure campaign is proving so effective that a resumption of large-scale military operations is unnecessary.
US forces continue to enforce a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, according to US Central Command. Oil prices rose about 1 percent on Wednesday after Tehran rejected a US proposal to transfer its stockpile of 60 percent enriched uranium to a third country.
