Report Says US Central Command Preparing for Prolonged Campaign as Air Defenses and Intelligence Assets Surge to Middle East.
From “weeks” to potentially months — is Washington settling in for a long war?
The United States is preparing for a conflict with Iran that could last at least 100 days — and possibly through September — according to a report by Politico, citing internal planning documents and unnamed officials.
The report says US Central Command (CENTCOM), headquartered in Tampa, Florida, has requested additional military intelligence officers to sustain operations over an extended period. The move suggests that planners are bracing for a longer campaign than the four-week horizon previously outlined by President Donald Trump.
In parallel, the Pentagon is reportedly accelerating shipments of air defense systems to US installations across the Middle East. According to the outlet, officials are prioritizing lower-cost anti-drone weapons to counter Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles — a tacit acknowledgment of the financial strain imposed by firing multimillion-dollar interceptors at relatively inexpensive drones.
If accurate, the preparations point to a strategic recalibration. Sustaining high-intensity air and missile operations for months would require expanded intelligence, logistics and funding commitments — and signal that Washington expects continued Iranian resistance rather than rapid collapse.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the alliance is not directly involved in the US-Israeli campaign but described allies as “massively supportive” and enabling US operations in the region.
The political dynamics inside Europe remain complex. The United Kingdom and Spain initially denied US access to certain military bases for operations against Iran, though London later reversed its position following public criticism from Trump. Spain has since announced it will deploy a naval frigate to Cyprus as part of a multinational effort — including Italy, France and the Netherlands — to protect a British Royal Air Force base from potential Iranian strikes.
The war began last weekend when US and Israeli forces launched coordinated airstrikes inside Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior military commanders. Iran has retaliated with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and Western military facilities across the region.
A months-long war would reshape regional security calculations, strain Western stockpiles and raise the stakes for energy markets already rattled by instability.
For now, the official timeline remains fluid. But the logistics tell a different story: Washington appears to be preparing not for a sprint — but for endurance.
