WASHINGTON \u2014 President Donald Trump has said he has not yet decided\nwhether to launch a military strike against Iran, but that he has many\noptions available to him.<\/p>\n
This comes despite the United States having deployed military forces\nand conducted extensive naval and air deployments across the Middle\nEast.<\/p>\n
The scale of US capability indicates the Pentagon would be able to\ncarry out air strikes lasting weeks or even months, particularly given\nthe largest build-up of air power in the Middle East since the 2003\ninvasion of Iraq.<\/p>\n
What is preventing a strike now?<\/p>\n
In an interview with Al Jazeera, cited on Monday (23 February 2026),\nformer Pentagon and White House military official David De Roche said\nthe only thing preventing an American strike on Iran is the pace of the\nmilitary build-up.<\/p>\n
De Roche said: \u201cThe problems and disputes have been ongoing for years\nbetween Iran on one side and Iran\u2019s neighbouring countries and the\nUnited States on the other. However, what is different and has happened\nrecently are the popular protests that took place in Iranian cities in\nDecember and January, as well as President Trump\u2019s statement that he\nwould take action regarding the matter. That is why we find ourselves in\na military situation that is different from where things stood in\nNovember.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his remarks to Al Jazeera, De Roche stated that the Trump\nadministration believes negotiations will not yield results, as Iran is\nnot serious \u2014 particularly given Tehran\u2019s insistence on conducting\nindirect negotiations and its commitment to limiting talks to criteria\nresembling the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear\nagreement from the era of former President Barack Obama.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/strong-war-indicators-yet-us-has-not-struck-iran-former-pentagon-official-cites-one-key-reason-1771891430", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }