President Trump met on Friday with top advisers and senior members of his cabinet to decide whether to intensify the military assault against Iran, according to four people briefed on the discussion.
The meeting took place as Mr. Trump faces a potential inflection point in his approach to Iran, after the collapse of a fragile cease-fire and a memorandum of understanding that was intended to bring the United States and Iran back to the negotiating table for a longer-term denuclearization.
The White House did not divulge whether Mr. Trump determined how to proceed. But the president indicated that the military was ready to carry out heavier assaults if ordered to do so even while leaving open the door to a diplomatic solution.
“Look, we’re locked and loaded,” Mr. Trump told reporters on Friday afternoon. “We’re ready to go, but we’re talking to them, so maybe there will be, maybe there won’t be a tipping point.”
He added: “Maybe they will cry uncle, or maybe they’ll just give up, or maybe they’ll just go into a cave and hide.”
Mr. Trump previewed some of his discussions in an interview with Axios on Thursday, saying: “I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it.”
He also indicated that the Israelis most likely would not be part of a new escalation, saying there could be “consequences” for them, apparently meaning from Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is coming to the United States on Monday and plans to meet with Mr. Trump, Mr. Netanyahu’s office announced.
Mr. Trump has insisted that the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran would be a relatively short “excursion,” although it has lasted nearly five months, with no end in sight.
The cease-fire collapsed after Iran hit a cargo ship traversing the Strait of Hormuz with a drone strike late last month, which was followed by additional strikes on ships soon after. The United States resumed strikes against Iran as well as its military blockade of the Strait.
In the past two weeks, Iranian strikes against U.S. interests in the Middle East, including a military base in Jordan, have killed four service members.
Mr. Trump’s meeting with top advisers came as the Pentagon has been rushing more forces, weaponry and supplies to the Middle East in case the war sharply escalates.
Additional Air Force F-16 fighters from Germany and stealthy F-35 jets from Britain have arrived in the Middle East in recent days, joining scores of warplanes and attack drones already positioned at land bases or on two aircraft carriers, according to several U.S. military officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters.
U.S. Central Command has declined to comment on any new deployments.
Long-range B-2 and B-52 bombers in the United States are on high alert, and additional aerial refueling planes that would gas up the bombers have been moved closer to the region, military officials said. This week, the Pentagon used a B-1B long-range bomber based in Britain to strike Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps targets in Iran, U.S. officials said. Axios previously reported the B-1B mission, the first against Iran in weeks.
Nearly 20 warships are on station in or near the Arabian Sea, launching Tomahawk missiles and enforcing a naval blockade against commercial vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports. Some 50,000 American troops in the region and in Europe are assigned to the overall mission.
As of early Friday, Central Command had carried out 13 consecutive nights of bombing runs, hitting coastal radars, anti-ship missile launchers and a fleet of small Iranian attack boats and other sites that the Pentagon says have contributed to attacks on commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. military has also damaged or destroyed an increasing number of railway bridges that civilians use but that also enable Iranian commanders to flow supplies to the southern coastal region near the strait.
Central Command has stopped saying in its nightly statements how many targets it is striking — arguing that gives the Iranian high command too much information — but U.S. military officials said more than 1,000 targets have been hit in the latest two-week escalation.
In contrast, the 38-day major military campaign that started on Feb. 28 struck some 13,000 targets before the two countries reached a cease-fire agreement on April 8.
So far, threats of increased bombings by Mr. Trump have not deterred new attacks from Iran. Some of the country’s current leaders appear to be more hard line than those who were killed by joint U.S. and Israeli operations earlier in the year. And while Iran is struggling economically and has seen some erosion of its military, its leadership appears willing to endure conflict with the United States regardless of the broader costs.
