The Pentagon is considering renaming the U.S.’s war with Iran to “Operation Sledgehammer” if hostilities resume, according to a report.
The war began on February 28 under the name “Operation Epic Fury”, but efforts to bring an end to the conflict with a peace deal have stalled as neither side can agree on terms.
Trump is said to be considering further military action if Iran does not agree to a deal and reopen the key shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz.
A White House official told NBC News any fresh military combat action against Iran would be conducted under a new name and operation. Two U.S. officials told the outlet that “Operation Sledgehammer” was not the only name being considered.
Whatever the name might be, the official said that from the Trump administration’s point of view, it would restart the 60-day clock that requires congressional approval for a war.
Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that Operation Epic Fury was “over.”
“The operation, Epic Fury, is concluded,” Rubio told reporters. “We achieved the objectives of that mission.”
A two-week truce between the U.S. and Iran was agreed on April 8, with the agreement being extended indefinitely on April 21.
Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the president must notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action. The resolution forbids troops from remaining for more than 60 days, with a 30-day withdrawal period, if Congress does not authorize the military action.
During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that it was the administration’s “understanding” that the 60-day clock “pauses or stops” during the ceasefire.
Senator Tim Kaine pushed back, suggesting that he does not “believe the statute would support that.”
Currently, Iran has restricted the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, with the United States also conducting its own blockade in the region.
Meanwhile, President Trump is weighing up options to reopen the strait and break the stalemate, one of the officials told NBC News. Trump is also skeptical that diplomatic talks with the Islamic Republic will succeed, but has not ordered the U.S. military to restart major combat operations, the official added.
“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.”
If another campaign is launched against Iran, the U.S. military presence in the region is larger than it was at the start of the conflict, two officials told NBC News.
“We are in a better spot now than on February 27,” one official said. “We have more firepower and capability.”
On Truth Social, Trump branded an Iranian proposal to end the war as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.”
Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, the president claimed that the ceasefire is on “massive life support.”
