This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
US President Donald Trump is considering launching a new military operation against Iran that could surpass the scale of the US strikes from Operation Epic Fury earlier this year, Axios reported Thursday.
In an interview with the outlet, Trump said he was nearing a decision on a potential major attack but stressed that no final determination had been made. Two US officials also told Axios that no new military orders have been issued.
“I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,” Trump said.
He also said Israel could join the operation almost immediately if requested, but maintained that the US would not require assistance from another country to carry out a new campaign against Iran.
According to Axios, Trump said Iranian officials want to negotiate but have not yet agreed to the latest proposal presented through mediation efforts.
READ: Iraq will not allow its territory to be used to threaten Iran: Prime minister
“They haven’t received enough pain yet,” he claimed.
Citing two regional sources familiar with the mediation efforts, Axios reported that Iran’s leadership had not accepted the latest proposal.
One source said: “We are trying, but the Iranians are not being helpful.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump previously warned that Washington would hold Tehran responsible for any further Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, arguing that “major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis themselves.”
The region has been on high alert since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive against Iran in February. Tehran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US military assets across the Gulf.
Although the two sides last month signed a Pakistani-mediated framework agreement to end the conflict, tensions were sparked again in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting a new exchange of strikes and renewed US threats of military action against Iran.
READ: A Reading of US National Security Strategies
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
- UN warns Israeli raid led by minister on Al Aqsa Mosque ‘very dangerous’ for status quo
- US Senate rejects resolution to limit Trump’s Iran war powers
- 2 paramedics among 3 injured by Israeli fire in Lebanon despite framework agreement
- Polish foreign minister urges Israel to halt expansion of illegal settlement in West Bank
- 2026 World Cup fuels online racism, Islamophobia targeting Lamine Yamal
- Trump weighing ‘massive’ US strikes on Iran
- A reading of US national security strategies
- Iraq will not allow its territory to be used to threaten Iran: Prime minister
- Turkiye strongly condemns Israeli raid led by minister on Al Aqsa Mosque
- Over 4.6M displaced people returned to their areas in Sudan: UN migration agency
- Israel shows there is no limit to the imagination of colonial violence
- Israeli forces kill 3 Palestinians, withhold their bodies in occupied West Bank
- Riyadh’s energy horizon and the dawn of a more equal future
- Tehran warns any UK base used by US to attack Iran will become ‘legitimate target’
- Trump says Saudi nuclear deal will be subject to Riyadh joining Abraham Accords
- UK considered suspending Israel trade agreement last summer: Report
- 1.4M people in Gaza expected to face ‘high levels of acute food insecurity’ by year’s-end: IPC
- US House passes $1.15tn defence bill embedding Israel’s war machine inside America
- Met Police reverses decision to close Gaza war-crimes referral against British nationals
- Wounded Journalists Demand Their Right to Travel for Medical Treatment
- The geopolitics of energy reconstruction: Who will rebuild the Middle East’s damaged energy systems?
- Palestinian election commission announces timetable for Nov. 28 legislative vote
- Rights groups sue France over failure to stop corporate support for Israel’s occupation
- Lebanese parliament speaker says success of Aoun-Trump meeting depends on results on the ground
- Gaza: On The Ground with Motasem A Dalloul | Week 22 July
- Modish blockades: The Houthis, Trump and expanding the war
- New York mayor says he and his wife received death threats over their views on Gaza and Iran
- Israeli minister says government’s ultimate goal is to control Gaza and establish settlements
- Israel on ‘high alert’ for any scenario with Iran amid Washington-Tehran tension: Energy minister
- China urges US, Iran to cease hostilities, resume dialogue
- Rubio says Houthis should ‘stay out of’ Iran conflict, claims they got ‘suckered into’ war by Tehran
- Why does Saudi Arabia tolerate the Houthis as a dagger in its side?
- Over 2,500 Israeli occupiers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem
- Settlers seize Palestinian home as Israeli army continues West Bank raids
- Oil hits six-week high as war threatens crude shipping routes
- Heavy US losses reported in Iranian attacks across Arab countries
- Houthis say they targeted two Saudi oil tankers in Red Sea
- France investigates alleged torture of French MP and Gaza flotilla participants by Israel
- Is it just about AIPAC’s money, or does the US-Israel rot run far deeper?
- After Trump’s threat, Iran warns no one will sell oil if Tehran can’t
- Iran warns any attack on its infrastructure will trigger ‘powerful’ response
- Libyan parties call for unified institutions, presidential and parliamentary elections
- US urges citizens in Israel to remain vigilant amid surge in organized crime violence
- New Hamas chief outlines 6 priorities topped by ending Israeli offensive in Gaza
- Iran threatens attacks on regional energy infrastructure after Trump’s threat over Hormuz
- US, Israel discuss potential Trump-Netanyahu Oval Office meeting: Report
- Trump warns US will bomb bridge or power plant for every attack on ship in Hormuz
- Iran says US strikes killed 53, wounded 592 since June 27
- Israeli shelling, incursions continue in southern Lebanon as army deployment enters 2nd day
- Italy to host meeting on 2-state solution on July 28-29
