Trump to get briefing on Iran strike plans including Hormuz and uranium ops as US weighs escalation options. Photo: X.
President Donald Trump will receive a briefing on Thursday from the leader of the U.S. Central Command, Brad Cooper, on new plans for potential military action against Iran, according to a report by Reuters quoting Axios. The report cited unidentified sources claims that the CENTCOM has prepared a plan for a “short and powerful” wave of strikes on Iran, likely including infrastructure targets. A fragile ceasefire in the Iran war began three weeks ago. The war began when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states with U.S. bases. U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions.
Trump has previously threatened to destroy Iran’s civilian infrastructure. International law experts say such strikes may amount to war crimes. The 1949 Geneva Conventions on humanitarian conduct in war prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians. Another plan expected to be shared with Trump is focused on taking over part of the Strait of Hormuz to reopen it to commercial shipping, the report added, saying such an operation may involve ground forces. The Iran war, which remains unpopular in the U.S., has shaken markets and raised oil prices. The war has brought traffic through the strait, a chokepoint for about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, close to a standstill. Washington hopes to make Iran more flexible at the negotiating table on nuclear issues, Axios reported.
Another option that might come up in the briefing is a special forces operation to secure Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, Axios said. Trump has cited Iran’s nuclear program as an imminent threat. Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons but says it has the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine is also expected to attend Thursday’s briefing, Axios reported.
In another development, Trump discussed how to mitigate the impact of a possible months-long U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports with oil companies, a White House official told Reuters on Wednesday, as the U.S. renewed its calls for other nations to help open the Strait of Hormuz. Tuesday’s talks with oil executives followed a deadlock in efforts to resolve the conflict, which has led the United States to try to squeeze Iran’s oil exports with a naval blockade aimed at forcing it to reopen the Strait to shipping. As Washington and Tehran traded public threats, mediator Pakistan was trying to avoid escalation while the two sides exchange messages on a potential deal, a Pakistani source told Reuters on Wednesday. Trump has said Iran can call if it wants to talk and, in a post on Truth Social earlier on Wednesday, said Tehran “couldn’t get its act together.”
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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