US President Trump is leaning toward further expanding US military operations in Iran, according to reports Wednesday, after huddling with top aides in the White House Situation Room the previous night to discuss potentially launching a major offensive against Iran in the coming days.

The attacks under consideration would be wider in scope than the recent US strikes around the Strait of Hormuz, with military officials having presented a series of options against strategic targets inside Iran that Washington has not previously attacked, the Axios news site reported, citing three sources with knowledge.

The Wall Street Journal reported that those options intensified airstrikes, deploying ground troops to seize Iranian islands near the Strait of Hormuz or bombing the Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site, the latter of which he has publicly mused about doing in recent days.

But some US officials quoted by the newspaper said Trump was reluctant to deploy ground troops after walking back previous threats to seize Kharg Island.

Both reports stressed Trump has yet to make a final decision on the matter, with Axios saying he was expected to seriously consider military options if there was no diplomatic breakthrough with Tehran in the coming days.

Among the officials who reportedly attended the Situation Room deliberations were US Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

In the hours before the meeting, Trump told Fox News that the US may strike bridges and power stations next week, adding that he would “save the energy targets for last,” but would “ultimately” hit them.

Asked Wednesday by reporters whether he had given Iran a deadline to respond before the US starts bombing bridges in the country, Trump said, “I don’t like giving deadlines, but they pretty much know the story.”

“They better behave,” he added.

Speaking at a roundtable event at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, Trump also claimed the Iranians want to “settle so badly.”

“They don’t like what we’re doing, and they do........

© The Times of Israel