Trump Weighs Short, Large-Scale Military Operation Against Iran At White House Meeting: Report

Last Updated:June 11, 2026, 01:53 IST

The proposal was reportedly discussed as Trump met with senior national security officials amid a rapidly deteriorating security situation in West Asia. 

US President Donald Trump is considering a large-scale but short-duration military operation against Iran as frustration grows within the White House over stalled negotiations and escalating hostilities between the two countries, according to a report by Axios.

Citing sources familiar with internal discussions, Axios reported that one option under consideration would involve a military campaign significant in scale but limited in duration, aimed at pressuring Tehran to alter its position in ongoing negotiations. The proposal was reportedly discussed as Trump met with senior national security officials amid a rapidly deteriorating security situation in West Asia.

The report comes as Trump has adopted increasingly aggressive rhetoric toward Iran, accusing its leadership of deliberately delaying talks and attempting to exploit diplomatic efforts to gain leverage.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said the United States would continue military operations against Iranian targets.

“We’re going to be attacking them- attacking them very hard," he said, adding,  “We were really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along, they keep playing us for suckers."

“We hit them hard yesterday. We’re going to hit them again hard today," he asserted.

The latest tensions follow the downing of a US Apache helicopter by Iran, marking the second crewed American military aircraft confirmed by Washington to have been shot down during the conflict. The United States responded with strikes on Iranian targets, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory attacks against US military facilities across the region.

Iran said it targeted American positions in Jordan and Bahrain following the US strikes. Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait subsequently reported intercepting aerial threats. Meanwhile, US Central Command confirmed attacks on Iranian military infrastructure near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints for global energy supplies.

According to Axios, the administration’s preference remains a negotiated settlement, but officials are increasingly concerned that diplomatic efforts have reached an impasse. Sources told the publication that a short, intense military campaign is being examined as a way to increase pressure on Tehran without committing the United States to a prolonged war.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has rejected Trump’s threats, saying Iran would not bow to pressure and warning that attacks on civilian infrastructure would only strengthen national resolve.

“Critical infrastructures are the lifeblood of the people," Pezeshkian said, adding, “Threats to target them … are not a show of strength but a sign of desperation in the face of a nation’s will."

Despite the military escalation, diplomatic channels remain open. Qatari mediators arrived in Tehran on Wednesday for talks aimed at narrowing differences between Washington and Tehran and preventing a further deterioration of the situation.

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