The US President wants to be informed about several options for military strikes against Iran in order to increase the negotiating pressure on Tehran, according to the “Axios” portal.
According to a media report, US President Donald Trump will be informed on Thursday about new plans for possible renewed military action against Iran. The commander of the US Central Command (Centcom), Brad Cooper, will present Trump with appropriate options, the news portal Axios reported, citing insiders. The Chairman of the General Staff of the US Armed Forces, General Dan Caine, is also expected to take part in the meeting. The Presidential Office and the US Central Command initially did not comment on the report when asked.
Centcom has drawn up a plan for a “short and powerful” wave of attacks on Iran, likely including infrastructure targets, Axios reported. Another plan expected to be presented to Trump aims to bring part of the Strait of Hormuz under control in order to reopen it to commercial shipping. Ground troops could be involved in such an operation. Another option that could be discussed during the briefing is a special forces operation to secure Iran’s stocks of highly enriched uranium.
The administration in Washington hopes that these plans will make Iran more willing to compromise in negotiations over its nuclear program, the report said. Trump had described Iran’s nuclear program as an imminent threat. The government in Tehran denies that it is seeking nuclear weapons. However, it points to its right as a state party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including uranium enrichment.
There has been a fragile ceasefire in the conflict for three weeks now. The war began on February 28th with an attack by the USA and Israel on Iran. The Islamic Republic responded with its own attacks against Israel and Gulf states where US bases are located. The American-Israeli attacks on Iran and Israeli operations in Lebanon have cost thousands of lives and forced millions to flee.
The war, which was unpopular in the United States, shook the financial markets and drove up oil prices. North Sea oil Brent rose by up to 7.1 percent to $126.41 per barrel. The last time Brent was this expensive was in 2022. Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a bottleneck for around 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, remains largely closed.
Trump has threatened to destroy Iran’s civilian infrastructure in the past. According to international law experts, such attacks could constitute war crimes. The 1949 Geneva Conventions on International Humanitarian Law in Armed Conflicts prohibit attacks on facilities that are considered vital for the civilian population. (Reuters)
