Senior White House officials briefed reporters Thursday evening that President Trump has a CENTCOM proposal for a two-week intensive air campaign against Iran on his desk. According to the briefing, Trump also heard ideas from Prime Minister Netanyahu on increasing economic pressure, including striking Iran's ground supply routes to spur internal unrest. The officials described Trump as frustrated with the lack of a decision on Iran and determined to see progress.
Senior White House officials briefed reporters Thursday evening that President Trump has CENTCOM's proposal for a two-week intensive air campaign against Iran on his desk. The officials stated that Trump also heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu ideas for increasing economic pressure, including striking Iran's ground supply routes to spur internal unrest. The briefing described Trump as frustrated with the lack of a decision on Iran and determined to see progress.
The briefing follows a series of reports earlier Thursday (Thu 01:46 Jerusalem) detailing the same CENTCOM plan. The Wall Street Journal confirmed that Admiral Brad Cooper had prepared a two-week strike plan aimed at neutralizing Iranian missile capabilities and preserving U.S. interceptor stocks. Earlier reports from Channel 14 and security analysis channels had indicated the plan was presented to Trump, with Defense Secretary Hegseth supporting it, while Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Kaine expressed reservations. The source quality evolved from a single security analysis channel to multiple newsrooms and finally to on-record senior White House officials.
The Zioneer has reported that the U.S. has been conducting nightly strikes on Iranian targets for weeks, and that Trump warned of a 'final stage' targeting infrastructure if a deal is not reached. The administration has been weighing a short but intense campaign to break the diplomatic deadlock, as reported by Axios and i24News. The new briefing adds Netanyahu's economic pressure proposals to the options under consideration.
It remains unclear whether Trump will approve the two-week air campaign or pursue alternative options. The timeline for a decision on the plan was not provided by the officials.
8 developments
- Developingynet: Trump Weighs Up to Two Weeks of Intense Strikes on Iran
- DevelopingTrump Examining How to Intensify Strikes on Iran, Source Tells i24NEWS
- StrongNYT: Trump discussed expanding US strikes on Iran with senior advisors
- DevelopingTrump reportedly planning full military escalation with Iran, targeting power plants and nuclear sites
Source and signal
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