Axios: Trump Mulls New Large-Scale Attack on Iran

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump is nearing a decision on whether to launch another major military aggression against Iran, telling Axios he is considering renewed large-scale attacks as Washington weighs the next phase of the months-long war.

“I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It's a big decision. Anything could happen with me,” Trump told Axios in an interview published Thursday.

The remarks come days before Trump is expected to meet the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. The talks are expected to focus on the war and Washington’s plans for the period ahead.

Trump said consultations with Gulf governments would factor into his decision, adding that he wanted to know “where they are and how they are doing,” while stressing that Washington had been “very protective of them.”

According to Axios, Trump had considered restarting major combat operations in early August but held back after Saudi Arabia and Qatar warned that Tehran could retaliate against Saudi oil and gas infrastructure.

Instead, Washington maintained military pressure without launching another large-scale offensive, continuing naval operations around Iran, tightening economic sanctions and focusing military efforts on increasing tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Although traffic through the strategic waterway has increased, it remains below pre-war levels as the conflict continues to place pressure on global energy markets.

Meanwhile, the US military continues to maintain a substantial regional deployment. Citing US officials, Axios reported that Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered current force levels in West Asia to remain through the end of the year, keeping US forces positioned for a possible renewed escalation.

“At some point you have to decide what is the end game,” one US official told the outlet.

Despite the threat of another major offensive, Trump said communication between Washington and Tehran remained ongoing and claimed that Iran was still interested in reaching an agreement.

His remarks followed comments a day earlier that “hopefully we are towards the end of the war,” while claiming that the Iranians “want to make a deal.”

The war entered its seventh month in September following joint US-“Israeli” strikes on Iran that began on February 28, followed by Iranian retaliatory attacks against “Israel” and US-linked targets across the region.

At the same time, Axios reported that the White House is developing a broader post-war strategy aimed at containing Iran and expanding normalization between “Israel” and regional states.

The strategy remains under development as Washington weighs diplomatic efforts against another round of large-scale war. Asked whether he would meet “Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to New York next week, Trump told Axios, “I may.”