President Donald Trump has been weighing several options for Iran—and some of them have already been leaked.
Trump, 79, discussed plans for Iran strikes in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, The New York Times reported.
No final decisions have been made, multiple officials with knowledge of the meeting told the outlet, but Trump has been leaning toward launching an initial strike in the coming days, with possible targets including the headquarters of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian nuclear sites, or the ballistic missile program.
Trump told advisers that if those strikes fail to push Tehran to accede to Washington’s demands about giving up its nuclear program, he would be open to possibly conducting a military assault later this year to help topple Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to The Times.
Several officials also told the publication that both U.S. and Iranian leaders were weighing a possible off-ramp introduced by Rafael Grossi, director general of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency: Iran could be allowed to produce very small amounts of nuclear fuel, but only for medical research and treatment.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment from the Daily Beast. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Times that “the media may continue to speculate on the president’s thinking all they want, but only President Trump knows what he may or may not do.”
Sources also told the outlet that Trump asked Caine and Ratcliffe to weigh in on the broader strategy for Iran, but neither advocated a specific position. Vance, meanwhile, did not oppose a strike but intensely questioned both officials during the meeting, asking them to lay out the risks and complexity of a possible attack against Iran.
Trump, who billed himself as “The Peace President” in his failed bid for the Nobel Peace Prize, has repeatedly threatened Iran over its nuclear program and its heavy-handed response to anti-government protesters last month.
“A massive Armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose,” he wrote in a Truth Social post in January. “Hopefully Iran will quickly “Come to the Table” and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS – one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!”
Last week, as multiple reports indicated that a strike on Iran could come as soon as this weekend, Trump set a deadline.
“We may have to take it a step further, or we may not. Maybe we’re going to make a deal,” he said on Thursday. “You’re going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days.”
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