Trump confirms talks with Tehran, is reportedly mulling raids by troops on Iranian facilities

NYT says options under consideration aimed at causing further damage to nuclear and missile programs, weakening Khamenei; report notes ‘unclear’ who would run Iran if supreme leader fell.

US President Donald Trump on Friday confirmed he has had dialogue with Iran, as The New York Times reported he was considering potential raids by American troops on facilities within the Islamic Republic. “We have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn’t have to use them,” Trump told reporters, referring to the US military assets moving to the region.

Asked if he has any conversations with Iran in the last few days or if he is planning to, Trump responded, “I have had, and I am planning on it.” Trump has threatened strikes over Iran’s deadly crackdown on mass anti-regime protests this month. Rights groups have verified thousands of deaths, but estimates of the total number of people killed range into the tens of thousands. Trump has also warned the US will strike Iran unless it agrees to a deal halting its contentious nuclear program, which the US and Israel targeted in June during the 12-day war.

Amid the tensions, Trump has been presented with additional military options for attacking Iran, to cause further damage to the regime’s nuclear and missile programs as well as weaken Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, The New York Times reported. Citing US officials, the newspaper said among the options being considered are potential raids by US troops, such as sending commandos to nuclear facilities that were not damaged during the 12-day war in June, though Trump has yet to make a decision on whether to attack the country. (Read More)