‘The next week is going to be very big,’ Trump reportedly clears Iran strike plans but holds fire, for now

Meanwhile, global concerns over regional escalation are mounting. Russia, which has long been allied with Tehran, issued a strong warning against U.S. military action.

President Donald Trump has privately approved U.S. military plans for a potential strike on Iran but is withholding a final go-ahead in hopes that Tehran will abandon its nuclear ambitions, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing three individuals familiar with high-level White House deliberations.

In a classified meeting inside the White House Situation Room late Tuesday, Trump informed senior aides and military leaders that he was in favor of military action, but would wait before issuing an execution order. Publicly, Trump acknowledged on Wednesday that a U.S. attack remains an active option.

“I have ideas on what to do but I haven’t made a final, I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due,” he told reporters, adding, “I may do it, I may not do it.”

According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump is using the threat of joining Israel’s ongoing military campaign, now in its sixth day, as leverage to pressure Iran into conceding to U.S. demands. A senior White House official confirmed to the publication that a range of military options remains under consideration, and that Trump is closely observing Israel’s operations before deciding on the U.S. response.

Israel’s “Operation Rising Lion,” launched last week, has targeted Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and military assets. Israeli strikes have reportedly hit over 1,100 locations, including eight Iranian attack helicopters and 40 missile-related targets in western Iran as of Tuesday.

At present, the United States has not directly attacked Iran but is supporting Israel’s defensive efforts against incoming Iranian missiles and drones, Pentagon officials told The Wall Street Journal. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine participated in a White House meeting Wednesday afternoon following their earlier testimony on Capitol Hill.

While the administration has made progress in planning for a potential strike, Trump may still prefer to resolve the crisis through diplomacy, people close to the president told The Wall Street Journal. But he continues to demand Iran’s unconditional surrender, telling reporters, “The next week is going to be very big, maybe less than a week.”

Iran, however, has rejected the notion of negotiating under threat. In a statement issued by its mission to the United Nations, Tehran said: “Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance,” a clear swipe at Trump.

Military experts believe that one of the potential targets for a U.S. strike could be Iran’s Fordow uranium enrichment facility, a heavily fortified site buried beneath a mountain. While Israel has not yet struck the facility, U.S. forces possess the advanced munitions required for such a mission.

As Trump weighs his options, the U.S. military has continued repositioning assets closer to the region. According to The Wall Street Journal, Washington has deployed air refueling tankers, ballistic missile defense warships, an aircraft carrier strike group, and F-22 fighter jets, which arrived at a base in Britain on Wednesday.

Defense Secretary Hegseth told lawmakers that U.S. force protection in the region is a top priority, especially if any strike on Fordow triggers retaliation from Iran.

During his Senate Armed Services Committee testimony, Hegseth declined to discuss possible strikes, saying such decisions would be made “at the presidential level” and could not be disclosed publicly. He added that the Pentagon is “working to ensure everything at our disposal is available to ensure maximum force protection against any contingency,” including potential drone attacks on U.S. forces.

Meanwhile, global concerns over regional escalation are mounting. Russia, which has long been allied with Tehran, issued a strong warning against U.S. military action. In a phone call with his counterparts in Oman, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged an immediate end to hostilities and condemned Israel’s ongoing military operation, according to a statement from the Russian foreign ministry on Wednesday.