Officials warn that potential military action could come within weeks as negotiations continue amid expanding U.S. and Israeli preparations.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Trump administration is moving closer to a potential military confrontation with Iran that could develop sooner and on a broader scale than many Americans anticipate, according to sources familiar with internal discussions.
Axios reported that U.S. military operations, if ordered, would likely involve a multi-week joint campaign with Israel targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, missile infrastructure and military assets. Officials cited by the outlet described the coming months as potentially marking the most consequential American military action in the Middle East in over a decade.
“The boss is getting fed up. Some people around him warn him against going to war with Iran, but I think there is 90% chance we see kinetic action in the next few weeks,” one Trump adviser told Axios.
President Donald Trump came close to authorizing strikes in early January following Iran’s violent suppression of mass protests. Instead, the administration adopted a dual-track strategy that combines diplomatic engagement with a significant military buildup in the region.
The U.S. military presence in the Middle East has expanded substantially in recent weeks. According to Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst, more than 150 cargo flights have delivered weapons and ammunition to the region, and 50 advanced fighter jets—including F-22s, F-35s and F-16s—were deployed within the past 24 hours, as reported on X. The deployment now includes two aircraft carriers, a dozen major warships, hundreds of fighter aircraft and multiple air-defense systems.
Some officials cited by Axios said that any conflict could resemble a full-scale war rather than a limited strike, in contrast to last June’s Israeli-led 12-day campaign during which Trump authorized strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Sources told the outlet that a broader campaign could threaten the survival of Iran’s clerical regime.
Despite the military escalation, diplomatic efforts continue. Advisers Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met in Geneva with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier this week. Both sides acknowledged limited progress, according to Reuters, which reported that negotiations remain high stakes as the threat of war looms.
Vice President JD Vance said following the talks, “In some ways it went well, they agreed to meet afterwards, but in other ways it was very clear that the President has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through.”
Vance added that the United States would “very much like” to resolve tensions through “diplomatic negotiation,” but said “the president reserves the ability to say when he thinks that diplomacy has reached its natural end.”
A U.S. official told the Daily Caller News Foundation that “The Iranians said they would come back in the next two weeks with detailed proposals to address some of the open gaps in our positions.”
Israeli officials, according to Axios, are preparing for a possible war scenario within days. Israel is reportedly advocating for a broader strike targeting Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and potentially regime change.
Trump on Friday said that “regime change” in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen.” Sen. Lindsey Graham, speaking Monday, told the Jerusalem Post, “We’re in the area now where we have got to make some strategic decisions about diplomacy and military action in the coming weeks, not months.”
Tehran has issued its own warnings. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote on X, “The American president claims that their army is the most powerful in the world. Yet it still happens that the world’s most powerful army takes a blow such that it cannot get back up,” as posted during ongoing negotiations.
Iran has also conducted joint naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz with Russia and China and temporarily closed sections of the strategic waterway for live-fire drills conducted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Satellite imagery cited by Reuters shows that Iran has constructed reinforced protective structures over sensitive military facilities, buried tunnel entrances at a nuclear site previously targeted by U.S. strikes, fortified other underground access points and repaired missile bases damaged in prior conflicts.
As diplomatic deadlines approach and military deployments continue, officials on multiple sides acknowledge that the coming weeks may determine whether the standoff results in renewed negotiations or escalates into open conflict.
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