Trump Weighs His Options in Carrying Out New Strikes in Iran

Trump Iran strikes: President reviews retaliation plans after militia attacks

Muhammad Asghar | GlobalBeat

President Donald Trump convened national security aides Friday to weigh military options against Iranian targets, three days after rocket attacks wounded 8 Americans at a base in eastern Syria.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth presented strike packages ranging from limited barrages on weapons depots inside Iran to expanded raids against proxy groups in Iraq and Syria.

The fresh cycle of violence revives 2020 strike patterns that ended with Trump ordering the Soleimani killing, but comes as he faces pressure to avoid a broader Middle East war entering his second term.

Trump told reporters he would “deal forcefully” with Tehran’s actions while reserving final judgment until intelligence analysts finish tracing the latest weapons used against U.S. forces.

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Aides said the president is considering an approach that mixes covert cyber action with overt air strikes similar to April 2020 raids that hit Kataib Hezbollah ammunition dumps, according to two officials familiar with the discussion who briefed journalists at the Pentagon.

Senator Tom Cotton urged Senate GOP colleagues in a private lunch to give Trump maximum leeway, arguing Tehran would retreat under threat of renewed “maximum pressure”, two attendees told GlobalBeat.

Iran’s UN mission warned Washington any revival of 2020-style commitments on elaborate targeting tables would be “met with an immediate and proportionate response”, state media said Friday evening.

European diplomats at NATO headquarters voiced concern privately that Trump might write off alliance misgivings the way he disregarded warnings before exiting the JCPOA nuclear deal in 2018.

Defense stocks climbed Thursday. Raytheon added four percent and Lockheed gained three after news broke of renewed White House targeting sessions.

One official said planners already identified roughly 20 offshore oil platforms run by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as non-nuclear targets meant to limit escalation, though pricing disruption risks at up to $8 per barrel.

Background

In January 2020 Trump ordered a drone strike near Baghdad airport that killed Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia head Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Iran responded hours later with ballistic missile hits on Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq, injuring over 100 U.S. personnel.

The tit-for-tat cycle paused only after Tehran shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet by mistake amid the chaos, turning domestic opinion against further retaliation.

What’s Next

Discussions continue this weekend at Mar-a-Lago, officials said, with an earlier “zero-option” pause removed after Thursday’s Syria attacks. A decision is expected before Congress returns Tuesday.