U.S. military officials have begun developing strike options targeting Iranian infrastructure and capabilities in and around the Strait of Hormuz in the event the current ceasefire collapses, CNN reported, citing multiple sources familiar with the planning.
The options under consideration range from attacks on Iran’s naval assets in the strait to strikes on its energy infrastructure — and potentially even the targeted killing of senior Iranian military figures believed to be obstructing negotiations.
Among the strike packages being developed, according to the sources, are plans to “dynamically target” Iran’s military capabilities across the Strait of Hormuz, the southern Arabian Gulf, and the Gulf of Oman. Those assets would include Iran’s fleet of small fast attack boats and minelaying vessels, which Tehran has long used to threaten commercial shipping through the critical waterway.
But military planners and shipping industry officials are cautioning that airstrikes alone are unlikely to reopen the strait to commercial traffic. “Unless you can unequivocally prove that 100% of Iran’s military capability is destroyed or near certainty that the US can mitigate the risk with our capability, it will come down to how badly [President] Trump is willing to accept the risk and start pushing ships through the strait,” one source familiar with the planning told CNN.
A second option under active consideration would target Iranian energy infrastructure, a move Trump had previously threatened publicly as a means of pressuring Tehran toward a negotiated agreement. Officials warned, however, that striking such facilities “would represent a controversial escalation in the conflict.”
The most aggressive option on the table involves targeting Iranian military leaders the U.S. believes are actively hampering ceasefire negotiations. One source identified Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander in Chief Ahmad Vahidi as among those being considered for targeting as an “obstructionist.”
The Pentagon declined to confirm the planning. “Due to operations security, we do not discuss future or hypothetical movements,” a Defense Department official told CNN. “The US military continues to provide the President options, and all options remain on the table.”
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
