Trump Leans Toward Expanding Military Action Against Iran, Considering Ground Troop Deployment

U.S.-Iran War Key News

(CNA, Washington, 15th – comprehensive international news report) U.S. officials say President Trump, after days of briefings from senior advisers, is leaning toward expanding American military action against Iran.

Possible options include intensifying airstrikes, deploying ground troops to seize Iranian islands near the Strait of Hormuz, and bombing a hardened facility suspected of supporting secret nuclear programs.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump chaired a Situation Room meeting last night to discuss the possibility of using U.S. forces to seize Kharg Island and other territories along the Strait of Hormuz, as well as whether to bomb a tunnel complex at Pickaxe Mountain.

Pickaxe Mountain is viewed as a facility linked to Iran's nuclear activities, but the U.S. has not yet launched an attack. Expanding airstrikes to target more Iranian energy facilities is also under consideration.

Officials said this discussion was one of several formal and informal meetings Trump has held recently with top officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine.

The U.S. military conducted two waves of airstrikes against Iran today, targeting Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Shortly after launching the second wave, Trump attended an industry event and said, "We'll soon find out whether we make a deal with them or just completely solve this thing."

The U.S. military continues its blockade of Iranian ports, turning away multiple vessels off Iran's coast today. In one incident, the military fired Hellfire missiles at the smokestack of a vessel flying the Curaçao flag attempting to reach Kharg Island. The vessel ignored U.S. warnings to turn back and was destroyed and disabled, officials said.

Officials say Trump has not yet made a final decision on the next steps in this war. He has repeatedly stated in both private and public settings that he prefers a diplomatic resolution to the dispute with Iran.

However, despite weeks of military strikes and a temporary agreement that allowed Tehran to sell oil on international markets and earn billions of dollars, Iran has not yielded to Trump's demand that it abandon its nuclear stockpile.

This diplomatic impasse has prompted Trump to ask his staff to present new escalation options to force Iran to surrender, or at least commit to ceasing attacks on commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Some U.S. officials say Trump is reluctant to send ground troops into combat. He has repeatedly walked back his most aggressive public threats, including seizing Kharg Island and striking Iran's oil industry.

Yet, if Trump approves these plans, the nearly five-month-long war would enter its most dangerous phase, drawing the U.S. deeper into an expanding Middle East conflict—potentially driving up gasoline prices and complicating Republican midterm election strategies. (Compiled by Chen Yu-Ting) 1150716

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