Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper reported that US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone call that focused on Iran, Syria and Gaza. According to the report, Erdogan suggested that Trump hold a three-way phone call with Iran. Trump was said to be open to the idea.
Earlier, CNN reported that Trump was weighing a new and significant military strike against Iran after talks between Washington and Tehran on curbing Iran's nuclear program and ballistic missile production collapsed.
Trump has issued threats, and Tehran has vowed to respond immediately to any American military action. One of the senior advisers to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, even threatened to strike Israel if an attack goes ahead.
The developments reflect a rapid and renewed focus on the targets the US administration is presenting regarding Iran, just weeks after Trump seriously considered military action that he framed as possible support for nationwide protests in Iran. Demonstrators faced violent crackdowns by security forces, leading to thousands of deaths.
On Wednesday, Trump posted on Truth Social calling on Iran to return to the negotiating table to secure what he described as a "fair and equitable deal, no nuclear weapons." He warned that the next US strike in the country "would be far worse" than the one carried out last summer, when the US military struck three Iranian nuclear sites.
Among the options now under consideration, according to CNN sources, are US airstrikes against Iran's leadership and senior security officials believed to be responsible for killings, as well as strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and government institutions. Trump has not yet made a final decision on a course of action, but he believes the military options available to him have expanded since the beginning of the month, now that a US aircraft carrier strike group is operating in the region.
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group entered the Indian Ocean on Monday and is continuing to move closer to Iran, where it could support any potential operation, both by assisting strikes and by helping defend regional allies against possible Iranian retaliation.
