US President, Donald Trump, has disclosed that he is seriously weighing a return to full-scale combat operations against Iran, warning that any fresh assault could dwarf the earlier campaign codenamed Operation Epic Fury.
Trump made the disclosure in an interview with Axios reporter, Barak Ravid, on Thursday, saying he was “close” to a final decision on ordering what he called a “massive attack” on the Islamic Republic.
“I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,” the President said.
He said Tehran remained open to negotiations but had refused to soften its position, insisting the regime had not yet paid a steep enough price for the standoff.
“They haven’t received enough pain yet,” Trump told the news outlet.
Two unnamed US officials, however, told Axios that no order had been passed to the military and that a final decision was yet to be taken by the President.
The renewed threat comes as Washington’s military campaign against Tehran enters its 12th consecutive day, triggered by attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has continued to hit back with its own strikes across the region.
Trump had separately taken to his Truth Social platform to warn that the US would hold Iran accountable for any fresh attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea, days after threatening to impose a blockade on the waterway.
Describing the Houthis as an Iranian proxy, the President vowed that “major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis themselves,” should the attacks continue.
On the possibility of Israeli involvement in any expanded offensive, Trump told Axios that Israel would join US military action “in two minutes” if he asked, but maintained that Washington “don’t need anybody” to carry out further operations against Iran.
He, however, noted that Israel could face “consequences” for any role it played in the strikes.
The latest remarks mark a sharp escalation in rhetoric from the White House, even as US casualties mount and America’s Gulf allies watch nervously for signs of how far the conflict may spread.
