However, the timeline could potentially stretch beyond the weekend.
Trump hasn’t signed off on anything yet, the outlet cites unnamed officials as saying, adding that Iran took center stage in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday.
Every US force assigned to the region is reportedly slated to be in position by mid-March.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is temporarily repositioning some US personnel out of the Middle East — largely to Europe or back home — to reduce exposure ahead of any potential operation or possible Iranian retaliation.
According to insiders this is standard pre-action protocol.
Diplomacy hasn’t left the room either. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is reportedly planning a visit to Israel in about two weeks for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
With the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group already in the region and another carrier group, the USS Gerald Ford, en route to the Middle East, Iran has warned of retaliation in the event of an attack.
Sending aircraft carriers is a show of force — but sinking them would be a show of capability, warned Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei.