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The United States and Iran moved closer to a full-scale confrontation on Sunday as both sides intensified strikes on military and civilian targets following the deaths of three U.S. service members, The Washington Post reported.
Two American troops were killed after an Iranian strike on a U.S. military base in Jordan on Friday. A third service member died in Iraq on Saturday during the controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone, according to the report.
President Donald Trump described the first two deaths as "a very sad event" and told NewsNation that he was unconcerned if Iran abandoned the bilateral memorandum of understanding between the two countries.
"The United States is preparing for a larger war," a U.S. official told The Washington Post, adding that the Pentagon is increasing the number of military aircraft deployed to the region.
However, the official warned that any expansion of U.S. operations would be constrained by dwindling air defense interceptor stocks, limited long-range munitions and the military's ability to deploy additional forces and aircraft because of combat-related losses.
"We don't have enough resources to safely sustain these operations, and I don't think the White House fully realizes that," the official said.
Military analysts also told the newspaper that the United States is not prepared for a potential ground operation in Iran, an option Trump declined to rule out last week.
The latest escalation follows the collapse of a ceasefire framework agreed in June. After Iran launched attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month, the United States resumed strikes on Iranian targets, leading to daily exchanges of attacks. Iran has since said it will no longer abide by the memorandum of understanding.
