President Donald Trump on Thursday said he is considering an attack in the near future on Iran that would be larger than Operation Epic Fury, the campaign that started Feb. 28 and ended in April.
“I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,” the president told Axios.
The Israeli military “would join in two minutes if I ask them to,” Trump said, adding that the United States doesn’t “need anybody” to carry out a new operation against Tehran.
The president did not offer more details, including when or what targets the U.S. military could strike or if American soldiers would be deployed to the country.
For roughly the past two weeks, the U.S. military has struck Iran for consecutive days, mainly targeting military sites and assets. Iran has responded by launching attacks at Gulf and Middle Eastern countries, including desalination and power plants.
“They haven’t received enough pain yet,” the president said, referring to Tehran’s leadership.
Iran has shown signs of wanting to negotiate but apparently aren’t willing to come to a deal with the United States, Trump told Axios.
Last month, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding that had set a timetable for talks to hash out a final deal while including provisions such as opening the Strait of Hormuz and ending Iran’s nuclear program. But this month, Iran’s forces attacked ships traveling in the strait and said that vessels can only pass through pre-approved routes, sparking the current escalation.
Earlier Thursday, Trump said on Truth Social that Iran will face U.S. retaliation if the Houthis fire at ships in the Red Sea. Because the Houthis are effectively an Iranian proxy group, the president said that “major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves.”
On Thursday, Iran said it attacked U.S. missile systems, weapons, and fuel storage sites in Jordan, as well as U.S. military posts in Kuwait. Jordan’s army said it engaged four Iranian missiles and six drones in the past 24 hours, intercepting all but one missile, which fell in an uninhabited area.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also claimed they struck a U.S. electronic warfare unit at Kuwait’s Al-Adiri base in response to an overnight strike on Iran’s Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq.
Iranian military spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said Iran would keep retaliating as long as the United States continues to attack its infrastructure and coastal areas, Iranian state TV reported.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
