Trump feels obligated to take action on Iran as administration weighs risks of retaliation

By Alayna Treene, Kevin Liptak, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump, facing a red line of his own making in Iran, increasingly believes he must take decisive action against the regime amid a violent and deadly crackdown on protesters, according to officials familiar with the matter.

Top Trump administration officials met Tuesday to further refine a set of options for the president. Trump, who joined the two-hour-plus meeting after landing back in Washington from a trip to Michigan, was also briefed on the latest death toll figures in Iran and US expectations for how the regime’s brutal crackdown might proceed, including the prospect of executions. He was shown video from the ground in Iran as part of the briefing, a person familiar with the meeting said.

In recent days, the president’s national security team has been split on whether to move forward with a kinetic strike, a source familiar with the discussions said. US officials insisted any such military move would not include boots on the ground and said the administration does not want protracted military involvement in Iran.

One option before the president is a strike on facilities related to Iran’s security services, which have been responsible for the crackdown on protesters, according to people familiar with the matter.

As they deliberate and weigh options, officials have worked to assess the various risks involved with each, including the possibility of an air strike mission going awry or prompting an outsized Iranian response. Officials also hope to avoid any broad destabilization in the region should Iran’s regime collapse.

Trump has repeatedly been threatening military action against the Iranian government for using deadly force against protesters, and he now feels obligated to follow through, according to officials. He is mindful of previous presidents who he believes failed to enforce red lines. Those include former President Barack Obama, who decided not to strike in Syria after its use of chemical weapons in 2013.

“Part of it is that he has now set a red line, and he feels he needs to do something,” a source familiar with the talks told CNN, adding that the president is almost certainly going to act. The question that remains, they added, is what type of action he ultimately lands on.

A key calculation in the decision-making process is whether the benefits of military action outweigh potential retaliation from Tehran, which has insisted it will target American assets in the Middle East if the US strikes.

Recent US intelligence reports indicate Iran is preparing options to target American bases in the Middle East, including those in Iraq and Syria, if Trump carries out military strikes, according to a US official and another source familiar with the matter.

There are also indications that the Iranian regime was surprised by the size of the protests and is currently trying to balance controlling the protesters with not giving foreign governments a reason to intervene — in part by restricting funerals for those who have been killed and cutting off internet access inside the country, the US official added.

Trump shrugged off concerns about retaliation on Tuesday, telling reporters: “Iran said that the last time I blew them up with the nuclear capability, which they don’t have any longer … They better behave.”

Still, some personnel at the United States’ largest military base in the Middle East have been urged to leave, a US official told CNN on Wednesday, as Trump weighs action. The official described the directive to some personnel to leave Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar as a “precaution” given current tensions in the region.

The base was targeted by Iran in June after the US struck its nuclear facilities. Now, as Trump again mulls potential strikes on Iran, the base — which is home to around 10,000 American troops — could become a target once again.

Trump said late Tuesday afternoon, ahead of meeting with his national security officials, he had a good idea of what action he might take.

“I know exactly what it would be. We have to make a decision, but I can’t be, obviously, I can’t be telling you,” he told reporters upon his return from Michigan, where he toured a Ford factory and addressed the Detroit Economic Club.

Trump has been receiving updated lists of options for action in Iran since last week. Officials insisted that key principals in meetings on Iran, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, have been careful not to pressure Trump into making a certain decision. They instead have finalized a series of potential options, as well as the pros and cons of each, for the president to consider.

Trump also continues to mull other options that stop short of firing a missile into Iran, like a cyberattack or new sanctions.

He has also pressed Elon Musk, his onetime government efficiency guru who owns the satellite internet service Starlink, to bolster connectivity in the country amid the regime’s information blackout. Starlink is now providing free internet access to users in Iran, according to a tech expert in touch with Iranian Starlink users.

“Iran is on my mind, when I see the kind of death that is happening over there,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews as he was preparing to go to the meeting at the White House.

Cabinet-level national security officials were seen arriving as the sessions, known as a “principals” meeting of the National Security Council, got underway Tuesday afternoon. The officials included Vance, Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

In recent days, the president had suggested there may be a diplomatic opening with Tehran. But he abruptly reversed course Tuesday morning, saying he was calling off any meetings with regime figures until the crackdown on protests ends.

Some of Trump’s advisers had warned that conciliatory messages from Iran’s foreign minister received by Trump’s foreign envoy Steve Witkoff were simply an attempt to stave off an attack.

Inside the national security meetings in recent days, several officials have argued that diplomacy is a futile exercise when it comes to Iran, the officials said. Throughout his first six months in office, Trump tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Iran before eventually ordering US military strikes on its nuclear facilities over the summer.

There’s also a belief inside the administration that no one has the authority to speak on behalf of the Ayatollah, who is the actual decision maker, making diplomacy a more difficult feat, the officials said.

Meanwhile, three US-allied Gulf Arab nations — Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman — have launched behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts to prevent US military action on Iran, concerned it could have wide-ranging consequences for the Middle East, a regional official with knowledge of the matter told CNN.

“Any military escalation will have consequences for the wider region, including its security and economy,” the official said.

In a message on Truth Social Tuesday morning, Trump encouraged protesters to keep up the demonstrations, and said, “Help is on the way.”

“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!” Trump wrote. He ended by writing “MIGA” — Make Iran Great Again.

Asked later what his message was for Iran’s leaders, Trump said he wanted them to “show humanity.”

“They’ve got a big problem, and I hope they’re not going to be killing people,” he said.

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CNN’s Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.