US and Israel Prepare for Extended Military Campaign as Tehran Targets 19 Strategic Bases
The United States and Israel are reportedly finalizing operational plans for a protracted military campaign against Iran, operating under the strategic assumption that Tehran will launch immediate and widespread retaliatory strikes against Israeli territory and American military installations across the Middle East. Intelligence assessments and recent geopolitical analyses indicate that the Iranian regime has designated at least 19 key US bases and strategic centers in the region as primary targets should hostilities escalate into a broader conflict.
Defense officials in Washington and Tel Aviv are preparing for a conflict that extends beyond limited tactical strikes, anticipating a multi-front war of attrition. The joint planning initiative reflects a significant shift in strategic posture, moving away from the “containment” policies of previous decades toward a readiness for sustained high-intensity combat. This development follows months of heightened tensions and earlier exchanges of fire that have already strained the region’s security architecture. The premise of the current planning is that any forthcoming offensive will not be unanswered; rather, it will trigger a pre-planned Iranian counter-offensive aimed at degrading US power projection capabilities in the Persian Gulf and the Levant.
According to regional security reports, the 19 locations identified by Tehran include major airbases, naval support activities, and logistical hubs critical to US Central Command (CENTCOM) operations. Among the most prominent targets are the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which hosts the forward headquarters of CENTCOM and significant aerial assets, and the Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq, a site that has previously come under ballistic missile fire. Other facilities in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain—home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet—are also believed to be on the target list. The inclusion of these sites suggests that Iran’s strategy focuses on saturating US air defenses and disrupting the logistical chains necessary for sustaining a long-term American military presence in the theater.
Military analysts suggest that the US-Israeli strategy accounts for this vulnerability by dispersing assets and hardening critical infrastructure, yet the threat of saturation attacks using Iran’s vast arsenal of ballistic missiles and suicide drones remains a primary concern. The anticipated Iranian response is expected to leverage not only state military assets but also the “Axis of Resistance,” a network of proxy groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. This coordinated response is designed to overwhelm the integrated air and missile defense systems currently protecting US and allied interests.
The planning for a “long-term” campaign indicates that Western policymakers no longer view a conflict with Iran as a quick surgical operation. Instead, they are bracing for a scenario that could disrupt global energy markets, particularly if Iran follows through on threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which a significant portion of the world’s oil supply passes. The economic ramifications of such a closure, combined with simultaneous strikes on energy infrastructure in allied Gulf states, would likely precipitate a global crisis.
Diplomatic sources note that while the military planning is advancing, back-channel communications may still be active in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. However, the rhetoric from Tehran has hardened, with Iranian officials warning that “host countries” housing US bases could be deemed complicit in any American aggression. This warning places extreme pressure on Gulf nations, who find themselves caught between their security partnerships with Washington and the threat of devastation from their neighbor across the Persian Gulf.
As the US and Israel consolidate their operational plans, the region stands at a precarious juncture. The shift toward preparing for a long war suggests that the window for a diplomatic resolution is narrowing, with both sides entrenched in positions that view military confrontation as an increasingly probable outcome. The identification of 19 specific targets serves as a stark reminder of the extensive footprint of US forces in the region and the scale of the potential devastation should the cold war between these adversaries turn hot.
* clashreport.com
* jpost.com
* understandingwar.org
* azernews.az
