WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is considering officially renaming the war with Iran “Operation Sledgehammer” if the current ceasefire collapses and President Donald Trump decides to re-start major combat operations, according to two U.S. officials.
The discussions about possibly replacing “Operation Epic Fury” with “Operation Sledgehammer” underscore how seriously the administration is considering resuming the war started on Feb. 28, and could allow Trump to argue that it restarts the 60-day clock that requires congressional authorization for war.
The Trump administration declared an end to Operation Epic Fury after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire in early April to pursue diplomatic negotiations. At the time, the administration informed Congress that hostilities with Iran had terminated. But the Pentagon has continued to describe the conflict with Iran as Operation Epic Fury, including when providing public updates. One Pentagon official said that Epic Fury continues and that the ceasefire simply has paused major combat operations.
A spokesperson for the Pentagon directed inquires to the White House. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Any new military combat operations against Iran would be conducted under a new name and operation, a White House official familiar with the discussions said, and from the administration’s point of view this would effectively restart the clock with Congress. Operation Sledgehammer is not the only name under consideration, according to the U.S. officials.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters last week that Operation Epic Fury “is over.”
“The president notified Congress, we’re done with that stage of it,” Rubio said during a White House briefing. “Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation.”
The 1973 War Powers Resolution requires the president notify Congress within 48 hours of starting combat; if not, troops must either be withdrawn within 60 days or Congress must authorize the military action. Epic Fury’s offensive combat operations were paused after 40 days of fighting. The Trump administration has argued that, given the pause, it has not reached the 60-day threshold.
The U.S. and Iran have exchanged fire in recent days as Iran has halted ship passage in the Strait of Hormuz and Trump continues a blockade. Trump is still considering various options for reopening the strait and breaking the stalemate as he expresses deep skepticism that diplomatic talks with Iran will succeed, one of the U.S. officials said, adding that the president has not ordered the U.S. military to restart major combat operations.
“The blockade is giving decision space without major combat operations or putting a lot of folks at risk,” the official said. “The status quo will not persist.”
On Sunday, Iran presented the U.S. with its latest proposal to end the war through a mediator. Trump quickly denounced the plan on social media, writing in all caps that it was “totally unacceptable!”
Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, the president explained that one major sticking point is his insistence that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and that now the ceasefire is “unbelievably weak.”
“I would call it the weakest right now, after reading the piece of garbage they sent us, I didn’t even finish reading it, they said — I’m not going to waste my time reading it. I would say it’s one of the weakest right now,” Trump said, adding: “I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support, where the doctor walks in and says, ‘Sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living.’”
Trump said he was planning to meet with “a large group of generals” to discuss Iran. Rubio, who also serves as interim national security adviser, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others met Monday to discuss options for the way ahead with Iran, including the continuing tensions around the closed Strait of Hormuz, according to one of the officials and a third U.S. official.
Last month, a White House official told NBC News that Trump’s trip to China, which he leaves for on Tuesday, is among the factors contributing to his decision-making process for determining whether to resume major combat operations against Iran. The official described the president’s visit to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping is a “priority.”
China is the top purchaser of Iranian oil, and the U.S. has accused Beijing of helping Iran target U.S. assets in the Middle East during the war. In recent days, the Trump administration sanctioned some Chinese entities it accuses of providing Iran with satellite imagery to help Tehran target American forces.
If Trump decides to begin another bombing campaign, the U.S. military presence in the region is larger now than when Operation Epic Fury began in February, according to one of the officials and the third official. The U.S. military brought in an additional carrier strike group and replaced and rearmed some of its assets used during the first two months of Operation Epic Fury, according to public remarks by Hegseth.
“We are in a better spot now than on Feb. 27,” one of the U.S. officials said. “We have more firepower and capability.”
