President Donald Trump is weighing a major new strike on Iran after preliminary discussions between Washington and Tehran over limiting the country’s nuclear program and ballistic missile production failed to make progress, according to people familiar with the matter.
Possible options: The sources say options Trump is now considering include US military airstrikes aimed at Iran’s leaders and the security officials believed to be responsible for the killings, as well as strikes on Iranian nuclear sites and government institutions, Trump has not made a final decision on how to proceed, sources said.
What Trump has said publicly: The president on Wednesday posted on Truth Social demanding that Iran come to the table to negotiate “a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS.” He warned the next US attack on the country “will be far worse” than the one it carried out last summer, when the US military attacked three of Iran’s nuclear sites.
How Iran is reacting: Trump’s latest threats were met with indignation by Tehran, which vowed an immediate response to any US military action, with one top adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatening to target Israel if an attack goes ahead.
Some context: The possible strike is a rapid refocusing of the US administration’s publicly framed objectives for Iran and comes only weeks after Trump seriously considered military action he framed as potential aid for nationwide protests in Iran. Protesters had faced violent crackdowns by security forces leading to hundreds of killings.
Read more about the possible strike.
CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Kylie Atwood, Zachary Cohen, Jennifer Hansler, Oren Liebermann, Kevin Liptak and Kristen Holmes contributed reporting to this post.