President Trump declared during a campaign rally in Florida on Friday that "We may do another little Epic Fury, or they’ll agree" - asserting an ultimatum for the Iranians to either agree to a deal or else face a new intensified bombing campaign, possibly with Israeli help.
"If they're smart, they'll just say, let's get down to business," he added, while expressing that it's currently unlikely that Tehran would agree to Washington's demands. Instead, Iran has been reasserting its own seven conditions, which include the lifting of all sanctions, the removal of US forces from the region, and even war reparations.
Though the conflict has very obviously lingered, with a major flare-up in fighting over the summer centered on the Strait of Hormuz, the Pentagon had formally declared Operation Epic Fury over on May 5.
The US administration had repeatedly claimed the US strikes "obliterated" Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity while defeating the country "militarily, financially and otherwise" - though there was never any definitive 'mission accomplished' moment, and instead there's been continued troop and military hardware movement to the region.
While the White House has signaled that a renewed bombing campaign on Iran wouldn't happen until after the November midterm elections, there have been signs that it could come before, amid reports of heightened US troop movement patterns to the Mideast region.
Diplomats in the region continue to be placed on hig
