The Pentagon has drawn up a new slate of military strike options against Iran, but President Donald Trump has so far declined to authorize any of them, leaving one of the most consequential decisions of his presidency unresolved, according to U.S. officials familiar with the planning.
The revised target list covers Iranian nuclear sites, missile production facilities and command nodes tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the officials said. The plans were refreshed after earlier options were judged too limited to set back Iran's program by more than a few months.
Trump has told advisers he wants any operation to be decisive rather than symbolic, and he has repeatedly asked whether a single round of strikes could avoid dragging the United States into a prolonged regional war. No final order has been given, and the timing of any decision remains unclear.
The hesitation reflects a split inside the administration. National security adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have pressed for a harder line, while intelligence officials have warned that a strike could trigger retaliation through Iran's proxy network in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, where Hezbollah, the Houthis and allied militias operate.
Iran has signaled it would respond to any attack. Tehran announced in recent months that it had begun enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels, and United Nations inspectors have reported that stockpiles of 60% enriched material have grown rather than shrunk.
Military analysts say the geography of the problem is unforgiving. Iran's most heavily fortified nuclear site at Fordow is buried inside a mountain, and the Pentagon's GBU-57 bunker-buster bomb — the only conventional weapon designed to reach that depth — would have to be dropped by B-2 bombers flying from Diego Garcia or Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, a mission requiring days of preparation and aerial refueling.
The cost of a campaign would run into the billions of dollars, and Iran could close the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 million barrels of oil pass daily. Even a brief closure would send global crude prices sharply higher and hit American gasoline prices within weeks.
Trump's first term ended without a direct U.S. strike on Iran after he called off a planned attack in June 2019, saying the projected 150 Iranian deaths was disproportionate to the downing of an American drone. He later ordered the killing of Qassem Soleimani in January 2020, which Iran answered with missile strikes on two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops, causing traumatic brain injuries to more than 100 service members.
Congress has not authorized new military action against Iran. A bipartisan group of senators has pushed for a war powers resolution that would require explicit approval before any offensive operation, though such measures have failed in previous sessions.
