U.S. President Donald J. Trump has been briefed on new options for military strikes against Iran, including potential attacks on nonmilitary sites in Tehran, as Washington grapples with how to respond to a deadly crackdown on nationwide anti-government protests that rights groups say has left well over 100 people dead.
Senior U.S. officials say Trump has not yet made a final decision but is seriously considering limited strikes if Iran’s security forces escalate the use of lethal force against demonstrators challenging the country’s clerical leadership. The options presented in recent days range from symbolic hits on nonmilitary targets in Tehran to more direct action against security infrastructure tied to the crackdown, according to multiple officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to The New York Times.
The briefings come amid the most intense unrest Iran has seen in years, with protests now entering a second week and spreading far beyond Tehran despite widespread internet shutdowns and mass arrests. A U.S.-based rights monitoring group estimates that at least 116 people have been killed and more than 2,600 detained, warning that the true toll could be significantly higher given severe communication blackouts across the country.
Trump and his top advisers have repeatedly warned Tehran that the United States will “hit them very hard where it hurts” if security forces continue to fire on largely peaceful crowds, casting the protests as a historic push for freedom that Washington is prepared to support. On social media, Trump declared that “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before,” while U.S. officials privately debate how to punish the regime without rallying domestic support around it or triggering wider regional escalation.
