U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to receive a briefing on plans for potential renewed military action against Iran on Thursday, sources with knowledge of the matter told Axios.
United States Central Command has prepared a plan for a “short and powerful” wave of strikes, likely including the Islamic Republic’s key infrastructure, in hopes of breaking the stalemate in the talks, the outlet cited three sources as saying.
Other options include an operation to take over part of the Strait of Hormuz and reopen it to commercial shipping, and a special forces raid to secure Iran’s highly enriched uranium, according to Axios.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper are expected to attend Thursday’s deliberations.
Two sources told Axios that while Trump sees the blockade as Washington’s primary source of leverage in the negotiations, he would consider military action if the Islamic regime still will not concede. U.S. military planners are considering the possibility that Tehran will attack forces in the region in retaliation for the naval blockade, the report noted.
Trump warned on Wednesday that Iran “better get smart soon,” saying the mullahs “don’t know how to sign a non-nuclear deal” to end the war.
“Iran can’t get their act together,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, posting an edited picture of himself walking through a war-torn scene with explosions behind him while holding a rifle.
“No more Mr. Nice Guy!” the image caption read.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington on Monday that Trump’s red lines for a deal with Iran have been made “very, very clear,” following Tehran’s latest proposal to end hostilities.
Under the Islamic Republic’s plan, the regime would reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a long-term ceasefire or permanent end to the war, a U.S. official and two sources with knowledge of the matter told Axios.
Nuclear negotiations would only start at a later stage, after the U.S. military lifts its naval blockade of Iranian ports, according to the reported details of the proposal.
Washington has repeatedly stressed that the nuclear issue must be dealt with from the outset, and Trump was unhappy with Tehran’s offer for that reason, a U.S. official briefed on the deliberations at the White House told Reuters.
CNN cited a source familiar with the matter as saying that the president was unlikely to accept the plan, as it could remove a key piece of American leverage in the talks.
