Pentagon Ready to Go With New Name for Iran War in Sign Fighting May Resume Imminently

AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

The Pentagon is considering a name change for what President Donald Trump has referred to as the “Iran Excursion,” the latest sign the ceasefire may be ending, according to a report by NBC News.

The strikes against Iran were controversial from the beginning, and Trump has received scathing criticism from the right as well as the left as the war has continued. The massive cost of the war — $29 billion and counting — and the inflationary impact on gas prices have been major points of contention.

Trump has been increasingly vocal in recent days about the terms the U.S. will demand to continue the ceasefire, bashing Iran’s proposals as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” in a Truth Social post and telling reporters the ceasefire was on “massive life support” after he had rejected a “garbage” deal from the Iranian government.

A new report Tuesday by NBC News reporters Mosheh Gains, Courtney Kube, and Monica Alba cites two U.S. officials anticipating the ceasefire collapsing and the Department of Defense engaging in a rebranding attempt as a result.

The military operations had been conducted as “Operation Epic Fury” until April, when Trump declared an end to it, and the two sides agreed to a ceasefire to start negotiations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Operation Epic Fury was “over” and “concluded” when speaking to reporters last week.

However, as the NBC News report noted, “the Pentagon has continued to describe the conflict with Iran as Operation Epic Fury, including when providing public updates,” and “[o]ne Pentagon official said that Epic Fury continues and that the ceasefire simply has paused major combat operations.”

The plan, according to the two U.S. officials who spoke to NBC News, is to re-label the war “Operation Sledgehammer,” although some other names are still under consideration.

Besides any strategic public relations reasons to relabel the operation, the name change “could allow Trump to argue that it restarts the 60-day clock that requires congressional authorization for war,” NBC News reported.

Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, the president has to notify Congress within 48 hours of starting combat or a 60-day deadline starts ticking for the president to withdraw the troops or get authorization from Congress. Epic Fury paused at the 40-day mark, and the Trump administration has argued the time had not yet run out.

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