President Donald Trump has silently supported American military proposals for a potential attack on Iran, but he has yet to sanction any action, The Wall Street Journal quoted three sources familiar with internal White House deliberations as saying. Trump is said to be waiting for Iran to reconsider its nuclear program under duress before making a final decision.
In a closed-door meeting in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday evening, Trump allegedly informed senior advisers and generals that he favored military action but was not yet prepared to authorize an operation. On Wednesday, he openly confirmed the possibility of a strike.
"I have thoughts on what I'm going to do but I haven't made a decision, I like to make the decision final one second before it's over," Trump said to reporters. "I might do it, I might not do it."
This, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, is Trump's strategic move to use the potential to join with Israel's ongoing military campaign—now in its sixth day—as a way to pressure Iran to give in to U.S. demands. A senior administration official told Trump that several military options are in consideration, and that Trump closely watches Israeli action before deciding America's strategy.
Israel's ongoing offensive, "Operation Rising Lion," started last week and has been targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities. So far, more than 1,100 targets have reportedly been struck, including 40 missile-related sites and eight Iranian attack helicopters in northwestern Iran.
As of now, America has not been directly confronting Iran but is indirectly supporting Israel by intercepting missiles and drones from Iran, as per Pentagon officials.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine attended a White House meeting on Wednesday after their previous congressional appearance.
While plans for a potential strike by the United States are in full swing, officials familiar with the president's thinking indicate that Trump is still looking for a diplomatic out—if not without terms. "The next week is going to be very big, maybe less than a week," Trump said to reporters, echoing his insistence that Iran must surrender completely.
Iran, meanwhile, has spurned negotiating under pressure. In a forcefully worded message out of its U.N. mission, Tehran stated: "Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance," a broadside aimed squarely at Trump.
Analysts say one possible target, if the U.S. goes ahead, is the Fordow uranium enrichment plant—a deeply buried, highly fortified facility. Even though Israel has not yet bombarded the site, U.S. forces possess the sophisticated arms required to conduct such an attack.
In preparation for possible conflict, the U.S. has brought military equipment nearer to the area. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon has deployed air refueling tankers, missile defense vessels, an aircraft carrier group, and F-22 fighter planes, which arrived at a UK base on Wednesday.
Addressing the Senate Armed Services Committee, Defense Secretary Hegseth emphasized that the security of American troops in the area is still a high priority, especially if there is retaliatory action taken by Iran following a strike at Fordow. He avoided validating any plans for an attack, citing that such would be decided "at the presidential level" and couldn't be shared in an open environment. But he said the military is ready to respond to all attempts, including drone attacks.
In the midst of growing worldwide concern about a wider war, Russia provided a stern rebuke of any potential U.S. move. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in talks with officials in Oman, demanded that all hostilities should be stopped immediately and criticized Israel's current operations, as stated in a foreign ministry statement in Moscow on Wednesday.
