US President Donald Trump is considering various options for attacking Iran, sources familiar with the situation told CNN.
The options Trump is considering include US air strikes against Iranian leaders and security forces that the US administration holds responsible for the killings of protesters.
Strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities and government institutions are also among the options, the sources said.
Amid threats of military action, the US has also set preconditions for a meeting with Iranian officials, the sources said. These include a permanent halt to uranium enrichment, new restrictions on Iran's ballistic missile program, and an end to all support for Iranian proxy groups in the region.
The most problematic issue, the sources stressed, is the U.S. demand that Iran limit the range of its ballistic missiles. Iran has reportedly rejected the request and is only willing to discuss its nuclear program.
Ideally, Trump wants to deliver a powerful blow that will force Tehran to accept the US terms for a ceasefire, one of the officials said.
Trump announced yesterday that a "massive armada", led by the aircraft carrier "Abraham Lincoln", is heading towards Iran and threatened Tehran with an even more powerful attack than the one that occurred in the summer of 2025. "Let's hope that Iran will quickly sit down at the negotiating table and reach a fair and equitable agreement - WITHOUT NUCLEAR WEAPONS - that benefits all parties," the US president wrote.