In conversations with his national security team, Donald Trump made clear that if the United States were to take military action against Iran, he would expect a swift and decisive strike against the regime—rather than a slide into a protracted conflict, NBC News reports, citing several sources. According to one of them, when Trump makes such a decision, he wants it to be final.
At the same time, the president’s advisers were unable to persuade him that an American strike would lead to the rapid collapse of Iran’s leadership. As three NBC News sources note, there is concern within the administration that the United States may lack sufficient resources in the region to fend off retaliatory actions by Iran—which those around Trump view as inevitable.
Such uncertainty, the outlet reports, could push Trump to approve more limited military steps against Iran at an initial stage, while preserving options for escalation later. Sources stress that the situation is evolving rapidly and that as of the afternoon of January 14, no decisions had been made.
After protests erupted in Iran, Trump said Washington was considering several “very tough” response options to the crackdown on demonstrations and pressure on protesters. The New York Times reported that the president had been presented with a range of scenarios for new strikes on Iran, including attacks on non-military targets in Tehran. However, on January 14 Trump said that, according to “reliable sources,” Iranian authorities had abandoned plans to execute protest participants. Against this backdrop, Europe—as Reuters reported—had been expecting a U.S. strike on Iran “within the next 24 hours” since the evening of January 14. Overnight into January 15, Iran and Iraq closed their airspace.