The options discussed for resolving the crisis between the US and Iran include the elimination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Axios claims.
The publication cites sources close to the talks in the White House between President Donald Trump and his closest advisers.
In this scenario, special forces should kill Ayatollah Khamenei and his son Mojtaba, who is said to be his adviser, as well as some of the country's top clerics. This option has not been rejected by President Trump, the Axios source emphasizes.
Another possible scenario for resolving the dispute is to allow Iran to enrich uranium in minimal quantities, but without having the ability to build a nuclear bomb. "President Trump is willing to accept a deal that is substantial and makes domestic political sense. If the Iranians want to prevent a military strike, they need to make us an offer we can't refuse. But they are missing the point. "If they are playing games, they will not be patient," a senior American politician told Axios.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that Tehran's proposal will be finalized within two to three days.
However, there are doubts that Donald Trump could order a large-scale military strike against Iran within days.
Iran's army is preparing for a possible US military strike while the negotiation process is still ongoing, Sky News reported.
Satellite images show that Iran is working to strengthen its nuclear and defense facilities.
Analysis of the images shows that after the strikes on the nuclear sites in Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, a lot of construction work has been carried out there. In Isfahan, for example, obstacles have been erected and the entrances to the tunnels have been filled with earth. Analysts say the construction activities show the Iranian military's desire to strengthen the weak points in the defenses of these sites.
The purpose of blocking the entrances is to prevent ground special forces from entering and, possibly, removing the finished enriched uranium that Iran has.
Satellite images also show construction activities at the Natanz plant, as well as strengthening the entrances to the tunnel systems around it. A site in Parchin has received a concrete coating, probably to protect it from bombs and missiles, experts note.
The Tabriz missile base, hit in Israeli air strikes in 2025, has also been largely repaired.