Trump Leans Toward Escalation: US Plan for a Broader 'Harsh Campaign' Against Iran

Sources revealed to the Wall Street Journal that Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), has prepared a military plan for a harsh air campaign against Iran that could last up to two weeks.

US President Donald Trump received Cooper's plan during an informal meeting aboard the presidential Air Force One at an airport in Delaware last week, after watching the arrival of coffins of four American soldiers killed in the war with Iran.

Trump was holding a closed consultative meeting on the plane with his senior military advisors, General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, with Cooper in attendance, who had been managing the war away from the spotlight from his headquarters in Tampa, Florida.

This comes as critics on Capitol Hill believe that any new military air campaign against Iran carries the risk of dragging the US administration deeper into the war, according to the newspaper.

Sources indicate that over weeks, Trump's position has oscillated between wavering diplomacy and threats to return to the pattern of major combat operations that marked the beginning of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

A senior US administration official stated on Wednesday that President Trump is 'in an escalatory mood,' but he is still studying 'the depth of that military response.'

Cooper's Plan

Trump is currently considering the level of escalation he will adopt; he can approve the option proposed by Cooper, which involves launching intensive airstrikes lasting 10 to 14 days aimed at crippling Iran's missile capabilities.

Sources also indicate that instead, Trump may choose to launch a limited-scale military strike, hoping to make room for the diplomatic path.

Cooper's plan is to go beyond the pattern of reciprocal airstrikes, which have not succeeded much in deterring Tehran from threatening ships in the Strait of Hormuz and launching missiles at US forces in the region, through greater escalation of the war, according to sources familiar with his thinking.

Cooper believes that for military action to be effective, America must intensify its airstrikes - significantly limiting the Iranian missile threat - in an attempt to break the stalemate.

Ammunition Stockpile

This approach based on 'large-scale escalation' - one of the options prepared by Cooper - would reduce Washington's need to use defensive munitions, given that Tehran's ability to launch attacks would become less.

According to the same sources, General Caine believes that low levels of US interceptor missile stockpiles will not prevent the resumption of large-scale combat operations against Iran, but it will increase the scale of associated risks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Wednesday with Secretary of War Hegseth, following his meeting with Trump. Officials stated that Israeli forces may participate in a potential major US attack, should the Trump administration decide to return to large-scale combat operations.

Trump hinted on Wednesday morning that he is indeed determined to resume strikes against Iran, although he did not disclose details and left the door open to diplomatic negotiations.

Trump said in an interview with Fox News: 'We will crush them completely. We will hit them with strong blows,' adding, 'We will let them continue talking.'