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The U.S. military is considering renaming the war with Iran “Operation Sledgehammer” if the current ceasefire collapses and President Donald Trump decides to restart major combat operations, NBC News reported, citing two U.S. officials.
The possible change would result in a different name for “Operation Epic Fury,” the title used for the war that began on Feb. 28. NBC News said discussions on the issue show how seriously the administration is considering resuming combat operations against Iran.
A White House official familiar with the discussions told NBC News that any new military operations against Iran would be carried out under a new name.
The White House official said the administration views a new operation name as effectively restarting the clock with Congress.
The 1973 War Powers Resolution requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of starting combat. If Congress does not authorize the military action, troops must be withdrawn within 60 days.
Operation Epic Fury’s offensive combat operations were paused after 40 days of fighting. The Trump administration has argued that because the fighting was paused, it has not reached the 60-day threshold.
The 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, it informed Congress that hostilities with Iran had ended.
However, the Pentagon has continued to refer to the conflict as Operation Epic Fury in public updates. One Pentagon official told NBC News that Epic Fury continues and that the ceasefire has only paused major combat operations.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on the other hand, 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.”
Operation Sledgehammer is not the only name under consideration, according to U.S. officials.
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.
One U.S. official told NBC News that Trump is still considering options for reopening the strait and breaking the stalemate. The official said Trump remains deeply skeptical that diplomatic talks with Iran will succeed, but 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 its latest proposal to end the war through a mediator. Trump quickly rejected the plan on social media, writing in all caps that it was “totally unacceptable!”
Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said one major sticking point was his insistence that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. He also described the ceasefire as “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. I’m not going to waste my time reading it. I would say it’s one of the weakest right now,” Trump said.
“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,’” he added.
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, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others met Monday to discuss options on Iran, including tensions around the closed Strait of Hormuz, according to NBC News.
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A White House official told NBC News last month that Trump’s trip to China was among the factors in his decision-making on whether to resume major combat operations against Iran.
The official described Trump’s visit to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping as 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 accused of providing Iran with satellite imagery to help Tehran target American forces.
If Trump decides to launch another bombing campaign, the U.S. military presence in the region is larger than when Operation Epic Fury began in February, according to U.S. officials cited by NBC News.
The U.S. military brought in an additional carrier strike group and replaced and rearmed some 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 U.S. official said. “We have more firepower and capability.”
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