Live updates: Trump to hear military options as part of efforts to pressure Iran into deal

Trump Iran military briefing weighs strikes to force nuclear deal restart

Muhammad Asghar | GlobalBeat

US President Donald Trump convened Pentagon chiefs on Tuesday to review military options aimed at pressing Iran into a new nuclear agreement.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth presented contingency strikes on Iranian oil terminals and Revolutionary Guard bases, two officials told reporters. The president requested “kinetic packages that hurt but don’t start a full war,” one participant said.

The meeting marks a sharpening of Trump’s campaign vow to scrap the 2015 JCPOA and replace it with stricter limits on Tehran’s uranium work. Iran has enriched to 60% purity, near weapons-grade, since the United States quit the accord in 2018.

Pentagon planners floated cruise-missile salvos and cyber-disruptions, according to a briefing slide circulated inside the White House Situation Room. Options range from single-site raids to a 72-hour air campaign, the slide showed.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations warned that any attack would trigger “an immediate and proportionate response across the region.” The statement, emailed to journalists, said US forces in Iraq, Syria and the Persian Gulf “would not remain safe.”

Satellite images taken on Monday and reviewed by GlobalBeat show increased activity at Bandar Abbas naval base, where Iranian fast-attack craft were moored in attack formation. Three small boats usually anchored inside the breakwater had moved to open water.

Oil markets reacted within minutes of news that Trump had gathered his national-security team. Brent crude jumped $2.40 to $81.75 a barrel, its highest mark since November.

European diplomats expressed alarm. “We spent years trying to keep diplomacy alive,” Germany’s Foreign Office tweeted. “Force increases the risk of uncontrollable escalation.” The tweet did not rule out fresh EU sanctions if talks stay frozen.

Trump told Fox News earlier this month he could “have a new deal in 30 days” if Tehran felt “real pressure.” Tuesday’s briefing is the first known session dedicated to military scenarios since he took office in January.

The president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to arrive in Oman next week for indirect talks with Iranian officials. Muscat has served as mediator between Washington and Tehran since the Obama era.

Background

Trump abandoned the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018, reimposing banking and energy sanctions that had been lifted in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran responded by breaching enrichment caps, stockpile limits and inspector access rules set by the accord.

Tensions spiked again in January 2020 when a US drone killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani at Baghdad airport. Iran answered with ballistic-missile strikes on American positions in Iraq that left more than 100 US troops with traumatic brain injuries.

What’s Next

Congress must be notified 48 hours before any offensive action unless the White House invokes urgent self-defense authorities. Senate Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch said he expects a closed briefing “within days” on the administration’s Iran path.

The next milestone falls on 15 May when the International Atomic Energy Agency issues its quarterly report on Iranian enrichment levels. Diplomats say anything above 90% would be read in Washington as crossing a red line.

Tehran has so far refused direct negotiations while US sanctions remain. Analysts say limited strikes could either push Iran toward compromise or push it to sprint for a bomb. What Trump decides after Tuesday’s session will shape both prospects.