Axios: Military Leaders Present New Options to Trump Regarding Iran

SadaNews - The American website "Axios" reported on Thursday, citing a source, that military leaders will present new military options to the American president today concerning Iran.

The source noted that President Trump is scheduled to receive a briefing on Thursday about new plans for potential military actions in Iran from U.S. Central Command Commander Admiral Brad Cooper, and it is expected that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Keen will attend the briefing.

The site quoted the source as saying that the U.S. Central Command has prepared a plan for a wave of short and intense strikes on Iran, likely to include targets on infrastructure.

According to Axios, this briefing indicates that Trump is seriously considering a return to extensive combat operations, either in an attempt to break the deadlock in negotiations or to execute a decisive strike before ending the war.

The source stated that another plan is expected to be presented to Trump, focusing on taking control of part of the Strait of Hormuz to reopen it, noting that the potential operation to control a part of the Strait of Hormuz may involve ground forces.

Axios also reported from two sources that Trump considers the blockade a key pressure tool but may resort to military options if Iran continues to refuse.

Meanwhile, Trump stated via Truth Social that a Harvard-Harris poll showed strong support for him regarding stopping the Iranian nuclear program, and he shared a link to a post featuring a drawing of him accompanied by the phrase "The storm is coming, and no one can stop what is coming."

Pakistan, headed by Shahbaz Sharif, is intensifying efforts to push Iran and the United States back to indirect negotiations in Islamabad, following a halt to the potential second round after Iran rejected the American conditions and the direct dialogue format, amidst Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar's confirmation that Pakistan is facilitating talks and urging a productive dialogue leading to a ceasefire and regional stability.

To date, Iran continues to express a cautious stance, refusing to engage in direct negotiations with Washington, and linking any political progress to a tangible lifting of the blockade and economic pressure, while the U.S. administration shows readiness to consider a new negotiating package that maintains oversight of the Iranian nuclear and missile program, in exchange for partial sanctions relief or easing the blockade on its ports.

Diplomatic and analytical sources estimate that the path of Pakistani mediation remains contingent on the fate of the truce and oil disruption, which pressures Iran at a time when Trump is wavering between continuing military options or adopting an acceptable political path, which keeps the situation today, Thursday, in a state of fluctuation between the possibility of renewed escalation from Washington, and Pakistan's efforts to maintain indirect negotiations to spare the region a return to full-scale war, without either Iran or the United States announcing written details of a final agreement yet.