Trump Holds Special Situation Room Meeting as Defense Secretary Says U.S. Will Strike Key Sites in Iran Overnight

Tensions between the United States and Iran continue to escalate, and Washington is preparing for the possibility of additional strikes as early as overnight. U.S. President Donald Trump held a special meeting this evening in the White House Situation Room with senior American security officials, in order to discuss additional options for action against Iran. According to a report on Axios, one of the options raised in the meeting is a short but large-scale military operation designed to increase pressure on Tehran and force it to change its position in negotiations with Washington. Two American sources quoted in the report said the White House is considering further significant steps in the immediate term.

At the same time, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joined Trump’s public threats and said that “the U.S. military will be busy tonight,” while making clear that the United States “will strike key sites in Iran with force.” On the Iranian side, harsh threats were also heard this evening. The chairman of the National Security Committee in the Iranian parliament, Ebrahim Azizi, said, “We are not afraid to fight losers,” and claimed that the number of American casualties is much higher than the Trump administration officially admits. According to him, “This time the war will not be limited to the region.”

Meanwhile, Al Hadath reported, citing a Pakistani source, that for now “we are far from signing an agreement between the United States and Iran.” At the same time, an Al Jazeera correspondent in Tehran reported that the Qatari delegation left the Iranian capital, while sources in Tehran are threatening that any further American strike will lead to a complete halt in the negotiations. Israel is also closely following the developments. Defense Minister Israel Katz said this evening during the Israel Defense Prize ceremony that “the campaign against Iran is far from over,” and stressed that the IDF is prepared “to strike Iran with great force” if necessary. Alongside the preparations in Israel, security officials assess that at this stage Tehran will try to avoid launching missiles at Israel, out of concern that this would give Jerusalem a direct pretext to expand the strikes against Iran.

Earlier this evening, Trump said in the Oval Office that he expects Iran to sign an agreement soon, but made clear that if that does not happen, the United States will respond forcefully. “What do you mean, they’ll pay a price? We’ll hit them very hard. They were hit hard yesterday, and we’ll hit them today too,” the American president said.