US prepares fresh Iran strikes after midterms: report

The Pentagon is prepared to launch new and potentially major military operations against Iran "within 96 hours of receiving” an order from U.S. President Donald Trump, CNN reported on Monday.

According to the report, "sufficient" forces are now deployed in the Middle East to carry out the potential strikes.

Some U.S. officials believe Trump's order could come any time before the end of the year, most likely after the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, and the scope of new U.S. military operations would likely go beyond efforts to simply "mow the lawn" or maintain the status quo by striking radars, launchers and other Iranian assets that can be quickly reconstituted, it added.

U.S. intelligence officials believe Iran and the Houthis are unlikely to carry out preemptive escalatory attacks against American personnel or Israel at this point but would not hesitate to respond if Iran is targeted first by U.S. or Israeli forces, the report said.

The New York Times reported last week that the United States and Israel have developed specific plans for renewed strikes against Iran after the U.S. midterm elections, with targets likely to include Iran's energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and missile and drone arsenal.

It noted that it is far from certain that Trump will approve fresh strikes, as he has repeatedly canceled plans for a return to major combat this year.

US prepares fresh Iran strikes after midterms: report

China's domestic tourism market posted solid growth in terms of both trips and travel spending from January to September this year, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) said on Monday.

More than 5.3 billion domestic trips were made during the first nine months of 2026, up 6.2 percent year on year, data from a survey of domestic travelers conducted by the ministry revealed.

Urban residents accounted for over 4 billion trips, an increase of 6.6 percent from a year earlier, while rural residents made 1.27 billion trips, marking a 5.1-percent rise.

Domestic tourism spending expanded 2.2 percent year on year to 4.95 trillion yuan (about 737 billion U.S. dollars) during these nine months. Of the total, urban residents spent 4.14 trillion yuan, up 2.2 percent, while rural residents spent 810 billion yuan, rising 2.1 percent.

China aims to record 8.3 billion year-round domestic trips and 7.7 trillion yuan in year-round domestic travel spending by 2030, according to a five-year tourism development plan for the 2026-2030 period released by the MCT in July.

In 2025, the country saw more than 6.5 billion domestic trips, with tourism expenditure reaching 6.3 trillion yuan, both setting new records.

China sees steady growth in domestic tourism over first 9 months of 2026