by Jerusalem Post Staff
Carriers, F-15Es and air defenses shift to Mideast as aides refine scenarios from IRGC targets to broader action; Tehran warns of retaliation while Washington debates goals and risks.
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US President Donald Trump is pressing aides for what he calls “decisive” military options against Iran after pulling back from strikes last week, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials.
The discussions are unfolding as the United States repositions assets, with the White House signaling that Trump could still approve strikes on Iran.
According to the Journal, Trump has repeatedly used the word “decisive” to describe the effect he wants any US action to have. That phrasing has led aides to refine options ranging from limited strikes on IRGC targets to scenarios aimed at greater pressure, while the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has moved toward the Middle East.
Officials told the paper that Trump has not ordered strikes, and his decision remains unclear. The continued discussions come as Washington builds up forces in the region to widen potential strike options.
Death toll estimates from Iran’s protest crackdown vary widely. US officials told the WSJ the number likely exceeds low-end totals of 2,000 to 3,000, while a separate UN-linked assessment cited in regional coverage has noted thousands of casualties amid a nationwide crackdown on protesters.
Asked last week whether the US may strike Iran, Trump said the regime had canceled plans to hang 837 people last week after US warnings. “We’re just going to have to see what happens with Iran,” he said.
Former officials and experts said airpower alone might not dislodge a foreign regime. Retired Air Force Lt.-Gen. David Deptula said military options can deter some regime behavior during a human-rights crackdown, but regime change would require significant air and ground operations, the Journal reported.
As the next steps are discussed, the US military has rushed more assets to the region. US F-15E fighters landed in Jordan on Sunday, and the Abraham Lincoln, with destroyers, F-35s, and other aircraft, was tracked sailing west from the South China Sea toward the Persian Gulf.
US carrier and F-15E deployments expand strike options, Patriot and THAAD bolster Middle East defenses
Additional air defenses will be brought to the region, US officials told the Journal, including more Patriot and THAAD antimissile systems. The arrival of additional hardware will give the US more strike options while regional coordination continues.
National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday discussed Iran with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, whose support would be required in an air campaign, the WSJ reported. During briefings last week, Trump was told that US airstrikes would not guarantee the government’s collapse in Tehran.
Some officials have questioned the political objective of strikes at this point. Trump is aware that any action would come after he promised protesters “help is on its way,” and that it would likely not be as swift as the operation that ousted former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
The White House has not publicly articulated how Iran might be governed if the regime were toppled.
“A decapitation strategy may create the pretense of a window of opportunity, but there’s no opposing force on the ground or over the horizon to overtake the regime, let alone stabilize the country,” said Ramzy Mardini, a Middle East geopolitical risk analyst and researcher at Stanford University.
Some aides have raised nonmilitary options, such as assisting protesters’ online coordination or announcing new sanctions. At the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said US financial pressure contributed to Iran’s economic collapse in December, which he argued helped drive the protests.
Trump has sent mixed signals on leadership change. In a Reuters interview last week, he expressed skepticism that Iranians would rally around exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, yet later told Politico that he wanted Iran’s rulers gone and that it was “time to look for new leadership in Iran.”
Tehran has warned it will target Americans if the US bombs Iran, especially if the leadership is attacked.
“Any aggression against the Supreme Leader of our country is tantamount to all-out war against the Iranian nation,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday.
F-15Es have long rotated through Jordan, bolstering US air capabilities. The two-seat fighters can attack ground targets and other aircraft, and they played a role in defending Israel from a large-scale Iranian drone attack in 2024.
A major air campaign inside Iran would likely involve stealthy aircraft such as F-35 fighters and B-2 bombers, as well as cruise missile-firing submarines, the Journal reported. So far, no US Air Force F-35s have been observed heading to the Middle East.
As the administration weighed a strike last week, the US lacked sufficient assets and air defenses in the region to sustain a bombing operation or to protect American troops and allies from retaliation, US and allied officials told Trump, according to the Journal. Israel also raised concerns about its own defenses after burning through interceptor stockpiles during last year’s 12-day war with Iran, officials said.
Jerusalem Post Staff
Source: https://www.jpost.com/international/article-884048
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