American and Israeli officials are reportedly preparing options for attacks on Iranian power plants, refineries and other energy facilities as President Donald Trump considers expanding military pressure following the breakdown of ceasefire efforts.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump is considering a substantial expansion of U.S. military operations against Iran that could include coordinated American and Israeli strikes on power plants, petroleum facilities and other parts of the country’s energy infrastructure as early as this weekend, according to multiple reports.
No final order had been issued as of Friday, and officials had not settled on a timetable. The planning nevertheless reflects a potential shift from limited military action toward a broader campaign aimed at weakening Iran’s economy, government operations and ability to sustain the conflict.
CBS News reported that American and Israeli officials were preparing options for what could become one of the most extensive attacks on Iranian infrastructure since the fighting began. Possible targets include refineries, electrical facilities and other sites connected to Iran’s production and distribution of energy.
Officials reportedly considered whether an operation could be completed before global financial markets open Monday because strikes against energy infrastructure could sharply affect oil prices and the wider economy. No final decision had been reached on whether that concern would determine the timing of any attack.
The possible campaign was discussed during Trump’s Friday Cabinet meeting at Camp David as administration officials assessed how to increase pressure on Tehran following weeks of unsuccessful ceasefire negotiations. Axios previously reported that Trump was seriously considering attacks on Iranian energy targets within days, while The Wall Street Journal reported that he had become increasingly doubtful that diplomacy alone would persuade Iran to accept an agreement.
Trump signaled during the Cabinet meeting that further military action remained under consideration.
“We’ll be hitting them very hard,” Trump said.
“At some point, they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore.’”
Asked whether negotiations could resume, Trump replied, “I think we just want to win.”
The White House said the president’s principal objective remains preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
“As President Trump said at his Cabinet meeting today, the United States will win, and Iran will not have a nuclear weapon under his watch,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CBS News.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell declined to identify possible targets or discuss operational planning before Trump makes a decision, but said the military could move immediately if directed.
“The Department of War is locked and loaded, ready to execute the president’s directives at a moment’s notice,” Parnell said.
An attack on Iran’s energy system would mark a significant escalation by extending the campaign into infrastructure supporting civilian services, industrial activity and government functions. A former U.S. military official told CBS News that damaging those facilities could reduce Iran’s ability to provide electricity, sustain military operations and preserve internal stability.
Officials also reportedly discussed interrupting electrical service in Tehran, although no decision on that option had been made by Friday afternoon.
The deliberations follow the breakdown of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. Renewed attacks have increased concern that diplomatic contacts could collapse entirely, though Pakistan, which has served as a mediator, maintains that negotiations remain active through back-channel communications.
Pakistani officials have said a negotiated resolution is still possible despite the renewed hostilities.
CBS News reported that Israel had been informed about the planning and was coordinating with Washington. An Israeli official, however, told the network that Israel was not aware of a final decision to resume full-scale military operations and had not been formally asked to participate in a new bombing campaign.
Israeli participation would restore direct offensive operations after the country paused combat activity during the ceasefire.
Iran has warned that an attack on its critical infrastructure would bring retaliatory strikes against both Israel and U.S. interests across the Middle East.
A senior Iranian security official described reports of possible American and Israeli attacks as “a kind of madness” and said Tehran had developed “extensive response plans,” according to comments published by Iran’s state-affiliated Tasnim News Agency.
The official said those plans include attacks on critical infrastructure in Israel and U.S. energy facilities throughout the region, adding that Iran’s armed forces possess both “the capability and the will” to carry them out.
The warning followed a White House statement saying Trump “is not going to stand by and allow this terrorist behavior to occur” and that “Iran will continue to pay until they come to the table in, what President Trump deems, a meaningful way.”
The military confrontation has already spread to Kuwait, where the armed forces announced Saturday that they had destroyed multiple Iranian drones targeting “vital facilities.”
“The Official Spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, Major General Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi, stated that the armed forces have detected, since dawn today, hostile drones within Kuwaiti airspace, and they have been dealt with and destroyed,” the Kuwaiti army said on X.
“He added that the heinous Iranian aggression targeted a number of vital facilities, including a government facility in the north of the country, as well as civilian vehicles belonging to one of the civil companies on Bubiyan Island, resulting in material damage due to falling shrapnel, with no human injuries recorded, praise be to God,” the statement continued.
Explosions were reported as Kuwait’s air defenses intercepted the drones. Authorities reported property damage but no injuries.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also argued that Iran is facing an administration more willing to impose military consequences than those it confronted in previous decades.
In an interview scheduled to air over the weekend on “My View with Lara Trump,” Rubio said the Iranian government has “never faced a president like President Trump.”
“I don’t think the Iranian regime has ever faced a president like President Trump, which is someone that actually takes action,” Rubio said. “They got used to, for 20 or 30 years, not just the U.S., but the broader world, allowing them to get away with things like lying, breaking deals, tricking people into agreements.”
The White House has accused Iran of attacking commercial shipping and U.S. forces after signing a memorandum of understanding with Washington. Trump has previously threatened to strike Iranian bridges, power plants and other infrastructure in response to attacks on vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.
The waterway is one of the world’s most consequential energy corridors, carrying a substantial portion of international oil shipments through a narrow passage connecting the Persian Gulf with global markets.
A decision to attack Iran’s energy sector would risk further disruption in the strait and could trigger retaliatory strikes against oil, gas and electrical facilities elsewhere in the region. It could also determine whether intensified military pressure forces Tehran back into negotiations or pushes the conflict into a broader campaign against critical economic infrastructure across the Middle East.
Original article
Comments