President Donald Trump convened senior military and national security officials in the Situation Room on Tuesday for an urgent discussion about a major U.S. military campaign targeting Iran, according to three sources with direct knowledge who spoke to Axios.
The proposed operation is expected to go well beyond the current wave of strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, where air attacks have continued for four straight nights as the conflict reaches its 137th day.
The high-level meeting included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine.
According to the report, officials reviewed plans for a broader series of strikes against key targets inside Iran, as well as additional military action in and around the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. officials said the central objective of the sustained bombardment is to eliminate Iran’s ability to threaten or attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important maritime corridors.
The confrontation intensified further Tuesday afternoon when a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports formally took effect, tightening pressure on Tehran by restricting its maritime trade routes.
Iran has responded to the mounting pressure by launching repeated barrages of missiles and suicide drones at American military installations in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain.
So far, U.S. airstrikes have largely focused on degrading Iran’s air defense infrastructure, radar installations, anti-ship missile sites and drone launch facilities.
At least seven personnel were killed in the strikes on a military base in Bampur, Iran overnight, Iran’s army said on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump huddled with top military brass in a high-stakes Situation Room meeting on Tuesday to plot a massive military offensive against Iran that will dwarf current strikes around the Strait of Hormuz
In an interview with Fox News Channel, the president said the US plans to launch at least two more days of strikes against Iran and that such attacks will continue ‘until I say it’s enough’
Trump told Fox News on Tuesday that US forces would ‘hit them very hard tonight, very hard tomorrow night’ in a brutal campaign that won’t stop until he says ‘enough.’
‘I’ll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we’ll hit energy targets,’ Trump warned.
‘We’re going to hit them very hard the night after, and then next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants.’
Trump also said the US would target bridges next week unless Iran was willing to negotiate a peace deal that included giving up their nuclear ambitions.
He vowed the attacks will continue ‘until I say it’s enough.’
In an update late on Tuesday night, CENTCOM advised another round of strikes had been completed, hitting dozens of military targets near the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian coastal areas.
Three boys play in the shallow water of the Strait of Hormuz as plumes of smoke rise in the background
The gathering of top minds reportedly focused on the blueprint for new strikes on strategic spots inside Iran and additional strikes in the Strait
Central Command posts file footage of US Navy ships and aircraft operating in the Middle East
The attacks were the latest in a series of tit-for-tat strikes across the waterway as the memorandum of understanding signed by the warring sides on June 17 lies in tatters
Three of the drones struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, marking the first time Washington has deployed sea drones in combat operations
Members of the public attend a memorial ceremony service for the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the Grand Mosalla of Tehran
‘US fighter aircraft, drones, and naval vessels launched precision munitions against Iranian missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, and coastal defense systems during the seven-hour wave to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and civilian crews,’ the update said.
US forces resumed the naval blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas.
The latest US bombing campaign comes after Trump notified Congress that the war would resume after Iran breached the memorandum of understanding by targeting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump did not rule out using US ground forces to ensure that his key objectives are met, especially when it comes to removing Iran’s enriched uranium.
US forces had been careful not to harm Iran’s civilian population with strikes, but Trump warned Iran that everything was on the table.
‘You better make a deal, or you’re not going to have anything left,’ he said.
The President also likened Iran to ‘a great boxer’ that needed to be put to the mat.
‘You think you have them beat, then they’ll come back and give you a shot,’ Trump said.
Trump suggested later in the interview with Fox News that he wasn’t interested in continuing negotiations immediately with Iran because ‘they lie.’
