Potential Airstrikes, No Ground Troops: Trump Administration Weighs Iran Options

Last Updated:January 11, 2026, 06:38 IST

The discussions signal a significant escalation in American rhetoric as the Islamic Republic enters its third week of nationwide unrest

Within the White House, the proposed intervention is being framed not as 'boots on the ground', but as a series of high-impact strikes designed to 'hit them where it hurts'. File image/Reuters

President Donald Trump’s administration has reportedly begun drafting preliminary contingency plans for large-scale airstrikes against Iranian military facilities, according to reports emerging on Saturday, 10 January 2026. The discussions mark a significant escalation in American rhetoric as the Islamic Republic enters its third week of nationwide unrest. The President has issued a series of blunt warnings on his Truth Social platform, stating that the United States is “locked and loaded" and “ready to help" if Tehran continues to use lethal force against its own citizens.

The push for a military response is tied directly to the deteriorating situation on the ground in Iran. Protests, which were initially triggered in late December 2025 by a collapsing currency and spiralling inflation, have since morphed into a revolutionary movement calling for the end of clerical rule. As of this weekend, a nationwide internet blackout has lasted over 48 hours, a move international monitors believe is intended to mask a “decisive" and potentially bloody crackdown. Human rights groups estimate that at least 65 people have been killed, though unverified reports from medical sources in Tehran suggest the true death toll may already exceed 200.

Within the White House, the proposed intervention is being framed not as “boots on the ground", but as a series of high-impact strikes designed to “hit them where it hurts". Potential targets reportedly include Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command centres and air defence sites. This strategic posture follows a precedent set in June 2025, when the US utilised “bunker buster" bombs against Iranian nuclear infrastructure at Fordow. President Trump has suggested that any further state-sanctioned killings of “peaceful protesters" would cross a final “red line", triggering an immediate American military response to “rescue" the Iranian people.

Tehran has responded with predictable defiance. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused the US of having hands “stained with the blood of Iranians", while the country’s Attorney General warned that anyone participating in the “riots" would be charged as an “enemy of God"—a crime punishable by death. Despite the heightened rhetoric, US officials have stressed that no final decision has been made and no military equipment has yet been repositioned. However, the administration’s shift toward active planning signals that the era of “strategic patience" has ended, replaced by a doctrine that links domestic human rights abuses directly to American military intervention.

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