"I guess I can say I am considering that," the president said when asked whether he was considering a limited military strike to pressure Iran into a deal, according to White House pool report.
On Thursday, Trump said he thinks 10 to 15 days is "enough time" for Tehran to reach a deal with the U.S.
"We're going to make a deal or get a deal one way or the other," Trump said on Thursday.
The president is considering an initial, limited military strike on military or government sites. If Iran still does not agree to U.S. demands, the president could then order a large strike campaign against the regime, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Aerial tracker websites have shown dozens of U.S. fighter jets and tankers en route to Europe and the Middle East this week, a massive airlift operation that comes as Trump has been briefed on a range of options, from limited strikes on symbolic targets to a sustained campaign to oust the ruling mullahs.
"I think this is very likely," Michael Makovsky, president and chief executive of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, which backs military action against Iran, said of a potential strike. "I've been talking to very, very senior officials; I get a sense that that's where they're heading."
He added: "I don't think you're bringing all those assets to the region, just for a Midnight Hammer-type of event. You're talking about, more likely, a longer campaign. I think Trump really means it."
A senior regional official warned that limited strikes may undermine any efforts at diplomacy.
"I think any strikes will make the Iranians walk away from the talks, but how it evolved after that, I don't know, it's anybody's guess," the official told The Hill.
Iran and Israel, like the U.S., appear to be preparing for talks to falter.
Satellite images over Iran show the country had constructed a concrete shield over a new facility at a sensitive military site bombed by Israel in 2024, Reuters reported Wednesday.
Ahead of talks with the U.S. this week, Tehran conducted live-fire drills in the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway of the Persian Gulf through which 20 percent of the world's traded oil passes — and held annual war games with Russia on Thursday.
Israeli forces, meanwhile, remain on heightened alert as its leaders push for military action against Iran. A meeting of Israel's security Cabinet was moved to Sunday from Thursday, two Israeli defense officials told The New York Times.
Another attack on Iran — eight months after the U.S. struck three of the country's nuclear sites in Operation Midnight Hammer — would have major implications for the region and could be met with a fierce barrage of missile strikes from Tehran on U.S. and Israeli forces.
Read the full report at thehill.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment