Trump's Bold Move: Massive Military Escalation in Middle East
President Trump said he is weighing a “massive attack” on Iran — as the Pentagon floods the Middle East with elite troops, fighter jets and combat medics, vowing to avenge the deaths of four US troops in less than a week.
“I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than anything we have ever had before. I am close to making a decision. We are fully prepared for it,” the president told Israel’s Channel 12 on Thursday.
He added that the Jewish state would join the US in the operation “in two minutes” if he asked, but clarified that “we don’t need anybody” to launch the potential escalation.
“Relations with [Israeli Prime Minister] Bibi [Netanyahu] are very good,” he said. “I will meet with him if he is in town [for Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral next week.]”
His remarks come as the US military has surged special operations forces into the Middle East and repositioned fighter squadrons across the region, according to flight tracking data, after four US troops were killed over the past week.
More than 150 medics have also been sent to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany — the military’s primary hospital for wounded troops from the Middle East — in preparation for potential additional casualties, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
The US military on Tuesday deployed a powerful B-1 long-range bomber, officials told Axios. It was the first time the US conducted a B-1 mission since fighting with Iran resumed 12 days ago — signaling a major escalation in the war.
Details on the bomber’s strikes and the damage caused were not immediately available.
The moves come as Trump is demanding “a head for an eye” when it comes to attacking Iran, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Thursday, updating the Old Testament formula of reciprocal justice.
“I saw [Abbas] Araghchi, their foreign minister, who the other day said something about their policies — ‘an eye for an eye.’ The president’s policy is a head for an eye,” Rubio said following the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting of foreign ministers in the Philippines.
“I mean, honestly, that’s what it’s going to be. I mean, they will pay a very heavy price,” he added.
In an apparent response, Araghchi claimed Thursday that “compromised individuals in the U.S. administration are burying their heads in the sand,” in a post to X hours later.
“They ignore the realities on the ground and seem focused only on 2028,” he alleged, referencing the next presidential election. “The mindless aggression they advocate will only ensure that POTUS pays heavier price for deal he’s trying to achieve.”
Trump said Iranians “haven’t taken enough pain yet” to finalize a peace deal, but said Tehran “want[s] to negotiate,” according to Channel 12.
A regional source told The Post that mediators are finding it challenging to get through to the Iranians, who are split between the politicians who favor US talks and hardliners who want to continue and even escalate the war.
“Basically, two tracks inside Iran are pulling further apart without a clean break yet,” the person said.
The US military buildup has escalated sharply since Iran killed four US troops in less than a week.
An Iranian ballistic missile strike on July 17 killed three US troops after striking housing units where American service members lived and slept at Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a source familiar with the attack told The Post.
The Pentagon identified the troops killed as 1st Lt. Tyler J. Feehan of Hawaii, Pvt. Isabella Gonzales of Texas and Army Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad of New York.
A fourth service member, Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton of North Carolina, died a day later as US forces detonated an explosive device attached to a downed Iranian attack drone in Iraq.
The deaths underscore the growing challenge of protecting roughly 50,000 American troops stationed across the region.
Nearly 100 service members have suffered injuries since July 7, but 96% have returned to duty, with most suffering minor concussions, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said this week.
Trump has vowed retaliation for every American death.
“Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!” Trump wrote on social media Monday, saying the directive had been passed to Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and military commanders.
The US has continued daily strikes since July 11 aimed at degrading Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, US Central Command has said.
