President Donald Trump said Sunday he is close to deciding whether to pursue a new deal with Iran or order another round of military strikes, as U.S. commanders prepare additional attack options for his approval.
“Do I make a deal with them or do I finish them off? That’s the only question,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures. “I have a decision to make. Do I finish it off, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal? Getting to be decision time.”
U.S. Central Command has prepared strike plans that could be carried out once Trump gives the order, The Hill reported Saturday, citing a source familiar with the preparations. A second source said military officials had presented multiple options to War Secretary Pete Hegseth, though none had been finalized.
The New York Times reported separately Saturday that planners have considered strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure and other economically significant facilities, and that Trump has privately leaned toward authorizing another major round of attacks. Trump has not yet given that authorization.
Control of the Strait and the Oil Blockade
Trump pointed to American control of the Strait of Hormuz and the naval blockade restricting Iran’s oil exports as evidence of leverage already in hand.
“Remember, we now control the Hormuz Strait,” Trump said. “They get nothing. We get everything.”
He said commercial shipping through the strait now exceeds prewar levels: “We’re doing more business through the Hormuz Strait today than went before the war started. The Navy blockade, the Navy and our military are unbelievable.”
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that overall Middle Eastern oil shipments have surpassed prewar levels, topping 24 million barrels per day, as Gulf producers lean on alternative export routes.
Watching Pickaxe Mountain
Trump also said U.S. surveillance continues to monitor Iran’s nuclear program, naming the fortified Pickaxe Mountain complex, a site not hit in earlier American strikes.
“We can read the badge on somebody’s shirt from space,” he said. “We know exactly what’s going on at Pickaxe Mountain.” He said little activity had been detected there or at other monitored sites, while maintaining that prior U.S. strikes had already devastated Iran’s nuclear installations.
Threats Against Americans
The renewed deliberations come amid intelligence warnings that Iran has advanced plans to target American personnel abroad. In a memorandum made public Friday, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Iranian plots to kill U.S. citizens in the Middle East and elsewhere had reached “advanced stages.”
The New York Times reported Saturday that two Iranian officials, including a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, acknowledged plans to target American diplomats and personnel in retaliation for renewed U.S. strikes.
Asked about the intelligence Sunday, Trump said he had received conflicting assessments. “Two very different sets of intelligence reports. I have them both, but they’re very different,” he said, adding that some material had been declassified and some remained classified, without further explanation.
U.S. diplomatic posts across the Middle East have tightened security in response, including personnel withdrawals, evacuation preparations and security alerts.
Tehran’s Response
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned Sunday that any violation of Iranian territory would draw a response “beyond the enemy’s imagination.” “We will not be intimidated,” he said, adding that threats of war or assassination would not change Iran’s demands.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said another American attack would not force concessions. “They have already done so twice and have seen the results,” he said. “If they want to try again, they know they will achieve no different outcome.”
A day earlier, Ebrahim Azizi, who chairs Iran’s parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, threatened Israel directly: “A single miscalculation is all it takes: the occupied lands rendered uninhabitable in under an hour.”
Iranian security officials have also threatened to strike undersea communications cables in the Persian Gulf if fighting resumes, raising the risk of broader disruptions to regional telecommunications and internet service.
Iranian officials have continued to signal openness to talks, with conditions attached. Abbas Gouzardi, a spokesman for Iran’s parliamentary speaker, said Sunday that negotiations with Washington remain “meaningless” unless the U.S. accepts seven conditions previously set by Tehran.
“Another Little Epic Fury”
Trump has insisted on a permanent agreement barring Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and has questioned whether Tehran can be trusted to honor a new deal. He raised the same warning Friday at an event in Fort Myers, Florida, invoking the U.S. military campaign launched against Iran in February.
“We may do another little Epic Fury,” Trump said. “Or they’ll agree. If they’re smart, they’ll just say, ‘Let’s get down to business.’ I doubt they’ll do that because perhaps they are not smart.”
Despite the preparations and his pointed warnings, Trump ruled out an immediate strike. Asked by a reporter Sunday whether the U.S. might attack Iran that day, he responded, “Would I tell you that?” before adding, “There will not be a strike today.”
