Trump Readies Major New Iran Strikes as Pressure Campaign Targets Tehran’s Surrender

President Donald Trump is preparing to dramatically intensify military pressure on Iran, with a new round of American strikes reportedly designed to leave Tehran with a stark choice: return to serious negotiations or face an increasingly punishing campaign.

The operation could begin as soon as this weekend and continue for several days, according to the Wall Street Journal, marking another escalation in the administration’s effort to force Iran’s leadership toward an agreement.

Trump made clear that the United States intends to apply overwhelming pressure.

“We will be hitting them very hard,” Trump said.

Israel is also preparing to rejoin the offensive alongside the United States, according to CBS News, which reported that the coming operation “may be the harshest bombing campaign to date against energy infrastructure targets in Iran.”

Israeli forces are reportedly prepared to respond as the Trump administration increases military pressure on Tehran.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reinforced the administration’s position, making clear that Trump has no intention of allowing the Iranian regime to obtain nuclear weapons.

“As President Trump said at his cabinet meeting today, the United States will win, and Iran will not have a nuclear weapon under his watch,” she said, according to CBS.

Trump indicated Friday that the objective of the intensified strikes is not endless warfare, but rather using American military strength to force Iran back to the negotiating table and secure an agreement capable of ending the conflict.

“I think we just want to win,” Trump said Friday, according to CNN.

The president suggested Tehran’s ability to sustain the confrontation will deteriorate as American pressure continues.

“They’ll get weaker. They’ll get a little stronger maybe now. Then they’ll get weaker. And then they’ll peter out,” he said.

Trump has also made clear that Iran’s leaders understand Washington possesses the capability to strike critical infrastructure rapidly if they continue refusing a deal.

“I could take out most of their bridges in less than an hour,” Trump said earlier this week, according to The Washington Post.

“They know I’m going to do that if we don’t make a deal,” he said.

The evolving American campaign is already moving beyond its earlier targets.

Dana Stroul, a research director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, described recent U.S. operations as “an expansion in the scope of the targets,” signaling that Washington could increasingly focus on infrastructure supporting Iran’s military operations.

Striking bridges and tunnels could cripple “the supporting infrastructure” relied upon by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “to move assets and capabilities around to reinforce the activity they’re doing from the coastline,” Stroul said.

During a Cabinet meeting Friday at Camp David, Trump emphasized that the United States remains willing to resolve the confrontation while drawing an unmistakable red line around Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

The administration is “trying to be as nice as you can be in a situation like that,” Trump said, adding, “They cannot have a nuclear weapon. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” according to the Times of Israel.

Asked whether Americans should expect additional Iranian retaliation following U.S. military operations, Trump acknowledged that the danger remains.

“A little bit.”

“It would be foolish to say no. You always have to keep your guard up,” he added.

But the president portrayed Tehran as increasingly weakened by the confrontation.

“Iran is doing very poorly,” Trump added.

“They’re having a hard time. They’ve been very dishonest. They’ve been very dishonorable to deal with, but that makes no difference. They’re doing very, very poorly,” Trump said.

Trump’s strategy reflects a familiar principle of deterrence: negotiations carry far greater weight when backed by credible American strength. Rather than allowing Tehran to drag out diplomacy while preserving its nuclear ambitions and regional military capabilities, the administration appears determined to make the cost of continued defiance increasingly difficult for Iran’s leadership to bear.

With American and Israeli forces reportedly preparing for another significant round of strikes, the coming days could determine whether Tehran finally chooses negotiation—or discovers just how far Trump is prepared to go to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.