Donald Trump is contemplating intensifying the conflict with Iran by potentially deploying ground forces to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz, as well as sending special operations units to secure Iran’s nuclear materials, which are vital for the regime’s bomb-making capabilities.
The President is scheduled to receive briefings from his senior military advisors on possible military strategies aimed at bringing Iran back to the negotiating table and concluding the ongoing conflict.
According to Axios, CENTCOM has developed confidential plans that include implementing “short and powerful” strikes against Iranian infrastructure. These actions are intended to prompt Tehran to become more amenable to discussions about ending their nuclear ambitions.
One of the strategies under consideration involves deploying U.S. ground troops to resume commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passageway that handles approximately 20% of the world’s oil trade, which has been obstructed for an extended period.
Another proposal for the President’s review involves deploying special forces to infiltrate Iran and secure its cache of highly enriched uranium. Previously, during negotiations, Iran declined to surrender this nuclear material to the United States.
Following the breakdown of peace talks earlier this month, President Trump enacted a naval blockade on all Iranian ports within the Gulf region.
Tehran, meanwhile, has shut down oil shipping lanes by attacking tankers with speedboats and laying sea mines in the strait.
Trump’s new pressure campaign to reopen the strait comes as the global oil market has plunged into chaos, driving US gas prices to their highest level per gallon since 2022.
The President’s top military advisers are set to brief him on new options for military action designed to force Iran back to the negotiating table and end the war
Trump may escalate the Iran war by sending ground troops to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and deploying special operations forces to seize the nuclear materials the regime needs to build a bomb
Trump’s new pressure campaign to reopen the strait comes as the global oil market has plunged into chaos, driving US gas prices to their highest level per gallon since 2022
After peace talks stalled earlier this month, Trump imposed a naval blockade on all Iranian ports in the Gulf.
US gas prices rose another 7 cents on Thursday to $4.30 for a gallon of regular, the biggest one-day jump in prices since the start of the war.
Gas is now at its highest price since the consumer inflation crisis of July 2022, according to the data from AAA.
Oil prices remain volatile after climbing briefly above $120 a barrel due to market concerns of the Iran war continuing.
Brent crude, the economic benchmark for global oil, trade above $126 but then fell below $115 a barrel.
Before the war, the average barrel of Brent traded for approximately $72, according to the New York Times.
Soaring oil prices are capable of affecting the average consumer far beyond the gas pump, driving up the cost of groceries, shipping, and virtually every consumer good that has to be transported or manufactured.
Trump has stopped short of strikes since an April 7 ceasefire was reached, though gas prices remain high and his poll numbers remain on the wane.
Tehran, meanwhile, is demanding the end of all US economic sanctions as well as full control over taxing oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
The President believes the economic blockade represents the least risky of the options presented to him, officials said
Trump’s four-week long extension of the ceasefire with Tehran has also resulted in a US naval blockade aimed at trying to force the regime back to the negotiating table
During a meeting with key staffers in the Situation Room Monday, Trump favored an extended blockade over either a continuation of the strikes or walking away from Iran entirely, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The President believes the economic blockade represents the least risky of the options presented to him, officials said.
An official said that the blockade has decimated the Iranian economy and keeping it from being able to properly store oil.
