Over the past week, the White House has been conducting daily discussions at the most senior levels on potential courses of action against Iran. American sources told Israel Hayom that the Trump administration requested and received a broad menu of options, most of which are not primarily military in nature.
One option under review is helping Iranian citizens regain internet communications. The regime in Tehran has shut down internet activity to prevent information from flowing outside the country and to block coordination of protests. According to various reports, the regime has also been disrupting internet networks through Elon Musk's Starlink satellites.
Another option being examined is a cyberattack targeting a range of sectors, primarily military infrastructure linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other regime institutions. According to the sources, there are additional covert options that cannot be detailed, including indirect assistance to protesting civilians.
Also included in the American target bank are kinetic strikes against military objectives, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facilities, and bases of the Basij, the militia forces involved in suppressing the protests.
The most significant lever, however, is economic. The US is planning to impose additional sanctions on Iran beyond those already in place on oil exports and military components. The goal is to reduce maritime and air trade with Iran to an absolute minimum, especially exports from the country, in order to entirely paralyze Iran's economy.
At the same time, the administration is stepping up enforcement against oil exports and weapons imports. In recent days, there has been a sharp decline in the number of oil tankers leaving Iranian ports. The practical effect is a depletion of Iran's foreign currency reserves, which, given the weakness of the local currency, serve as the regime's economic lifeline.
A diplomatic source told Israel Hayom that the regime is "fighting for its survival" and is expected to intensify its crackdown on protesters. "There are already hundreds of civilian fatalities and thousands of detainees, but the protest movement has not stopped," the source said.
According to the source, the danger to the regime is tangible, though not likely to materialize within days. Still, they added, senior figures in the regime are already examining asylum options in countries considered friendly to them.
"Need more time"
Senior American officials warned Trump earlier that they "need more time" and that the option of a strike could be delayed, according to a report in The Telegraph.
According to a report by The New York Times, President Trump has not yet made a final decision on strikes against Iran, despite support from other senior figures in his administration for such a move. The newspaper also reported that the US military asked the president for additional time to build up forces in the region and to plan an operation that would be effective against the Iranian regime.
It is important to note that the current US military deployment in the region is far from ideal, particularly given the risk of a broad Iranian retaliatory attack and the potential for such a response to escalate into a regional war. This reality limits the scope of any potential American operation and is a key consideration in President Trump's decision making process.
