An IDF soldier stands next to an Iron Dome aerial defense battery, near Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, July 27, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Amir Cohen.

The IDF is readying itself for the possibility that the US will take military action against Iran before President Donald Trump’s term ends in January, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed senior Israeli officials.

“The Israeli government instructed the IDF to undertake the preparations not because of any intelligence or assessment that Trump will order such a strike, but because senior Israeli officials anticipate ‘a very sensitive period’ ahead of [President-elect Joe] Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20,” the report said.

It added, “The IDF’s preparedness measures relate to possible Iranian retaliation against Israel directly or through Iranian proxies in Syria, Gaza and Lebanon.”

Last week, it was reported that Trump had asked advisers at a recent meeting for options for a strike on Iran’s main nuclear site, the Natanz uranium enrichment facility.