U.S. President Donald Trump is considering expanding military operations against Iran through an intensive air campaign that could last between 10 and 14 days, as his administration continues to assess both military and diplomatic options, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
According to the newspaper, U.S. Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper presented a plan involving sustained airstrikes aimed at reducing Iran’s missile capabilities and weakening its military infrastructure in an effort to alter the course of the confrontation.
The report said U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth supports carrying out the air campaign, arguing that it could limit Iran’s ability to launch retaliatory attacks. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, however, has expressed reservations about expanding the operations, warning that doing so could deplete U.S. air-defense missile stockpiles and affect the military’s readiness to respond to other crises.
Trump is leaning toward military escalation but has yet to make a final decision, the newspaper said, as he continues to weigh an expansion of the strikes against keeping the door open to diplomacy.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that discussions within the U.S. administration include Israel’s role in any broader military operation, amid differing views over whether airstrikes alone could achieve long-term strategic objectives against Iran.
Early Thursday, the U.S. military announced that it had completed an “intensive wave” of strikes against Iran after Washington resumed attacks on Tehran following a week of de-escalation, raising concerns about a widening war in the Middle East, particularly as Iran’s regional allies become increasingly involved in the confrontation.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X that its forces had “successfully completed an intensive wave of strikes against Iran” in response to attempted missile attacks targeting U.S. forces the previous day. It said the strikes targeted dozens of sites belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) inside Iran, including military command centers.
CENTCOM added that dozens of IRGC targets were struck, including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defense sites, and naval capabilities.
