US Ready to Strike Iran This Weekend? 7 Explosive Facts as Trump Holds Final Call

US-Iran tensions surge as reports say Washington is ready for a weekend strike, but Donald Trump has yet to make the final call, raising global security concerns

The US military is prepared to launch strikes on Iran as early as this weekend, though President Donald Trump has yet to make a final call on authorising the operation, multiple media reports, including CNN and CNBC, reported. At the same time, the US is rushing fighter jets and support aircraft to the Middle East, building its largest air power presence in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The White House has been briefed that the US military could be ready to strike Iran as early as this weekend following a major buildup of air and naval assets in the Middle East, sources told CNN. However, Trump has not made a final decision and has privately weighed arguments both for and against military action while consulting advisors and allies.

On Wednesday, senior national security officials met in the White House Situation Room to assess the situation.

Trump was also briefed by special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner on indirect talks with Iran held a day earlier in Geneva. The talks, which lasted over three hours, produced no clear breakthrough, though Iran’s top negotiator cited agreement on “guiding principles,” while US officials said key details remain unresolved.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran is expected to clarify its negotiating position in the coming weeks, stressing that diplomacy remains Trump’s preferred option but that military action is still on the table.

“There are many reasons one could argue for a strike,” she said, adding that Trump is relying primarily on advice from his national security team.

Iran, meanwhile, is reinforcing several nuclear facilities by covering key sites with concrete and large volumes of soil, according to fresh satellite imagery and analysis by the Institute for Science and International Security, amid mounting US military pressure.

Trump has been briefed on a range of military options as the US carries out its largest deployment of air power to the Middle East since the 2003 Iraq invasion, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Advanced fighter jets, including F-35s and F-22s, along with command-and-control aircraft, are moving into position, while a second aircraft carrier – USS Gerald Ford – heads toward the region. The US’s naval presence has already swelled to 13 warships, including the first aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln, operating in the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean.

Officials said the options presented to Trump range from limited strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities to a far broader campaign that could target dozens of Iranian leaders with the aim of toppling the government. Either scenario would likely last several weeks, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group could arrive in the region as soon as this weekend, while US Air Force tankers and fighter jets are being repositioned closer to the Middle East, CNN reported.

Amid the buildup, Axios reported that US officials believe any strike would likely be a sustained, multi-week campaign, potentially carried out jointly with Israel and larger than last year’s 12-day Israeli-led operation.

One White House official put the chances of military action in the coming weeks at 90 per cent, as concerns grow that escalating tensions could tip into a broader conflict despite ongoing diplomatic efforts.

With military assets surging and diplomacy yielding few tangible results, the coming days are shaping up as a critical test of Washington’s strategy toward Tehran. While Trump continues to weigh options, officials acknowledge the window for a negotiated off-ramp is narrowing, raising the risk that a standoff marked by pressure and posturing could slide into a prolonged and far more dangerous conflict.

US Ready to Strike Iran This Weekend? 7 Explosive Facts as Trump Holds Final Call