Updated Feb. 21, 2026, 10:27 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump could make good on his threats to attack Iran within days, as a growing number of U.S. warships encircle the country, and the administration pushes Tehran to make a nuclear deal fast.
Trump has for weeks warned of potential for military strikes on the Middle Eastern nation, as his negotiators held mediated talks with their Iranian counterparts to discuss a deal. The White House says an agreement would avert military action, and the administration was waiting for a proposal from Tehran, heading into the weekend.
The president acknowledged on Feb. 20 that a limited strike on Iran is currently on the table. “I guess I am considering that,” he said in response to a question.
After a Situation Room discussion on Iran on Feb. 18, a senior administration official told USA TODAY that Trump could decide to strike Iran as soon as this weekend. He could also strike Iran next weekend — or never — the official said of the president’s options. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic.
The following day, during a Feb. 19 meeting of his Board of Peace for Gaza, Trump told attendees he would know whether a deal was possible within the next 10 days.
“We may have to take it a step further or we may not,” Trump said.
He said later in the day that 15 days was his maximum.
The senior official who spoke to USA TODAY said earlier on Feb. 19 that the U.S. was waiting on a proposal from the Iranians, and it should arrive within the next two weeks.
White House says ‘all options’ at Trump’s disposal
Trump’s administration is currently locked in negotiations with Iran to curb its nuclear program, and the White House has repeatedly emphasized that Trump prefers the diplomatic route. But the mediated talks have not yet produced a deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed to include Iran’s ballistic missile program and funding for its proxy forces in the region in the deal – conditions that experts say the Iranians are highly unlikely to accept.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet in Israel with Netanyahu on the evening Feb. 28. Trump has typically consulted close ally Israel on his actions in the region and worked in close coordination with Israel when it bombed Iran’s nuclear sites last June. Netanyahu also visited Trump in Washington this month.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a “Morning Joe” interview on Feb. 20 on MSNOW that “there is no military solution for Iran’s nuclear program.”
“The only solution is diplomacy. This is why the U.S. is back on the table of negotiation and is seeking a deal,” he said.
But the Iranian diplomat said his country was prepared for negotiation, “as much as we are prepared for war,” if an agreement cannot be reached.
Several news outlets have reported in recent days that Trump is considering a limited initial strike, but that an operation to decapitate Iran’s government or take out leadership is also on the table.
The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command referred USA TODAY’s request for comment to the White House.
A White House official told USA TODAY in a statement, “President Trump’s first instinct is always diplomacy, and he has been clear that the Iranian regime should make a deal. Of course, the president ultimately has all options at his disposal.”
Trump renewed his threats in recent months as the largest protests in decades broke out in the country, prompting the Iranian regime to carry out a brutal crackdown that has reportedly killed thousands. Trump previously sent a message to protesters in a Truth Social post that “help is on its way,” but has since shifted the goal of negotiations – and a possible military operation – to Iran’s nuclear program.
Experts said Trump could launch an initial strike and expand as circumstances required.
“I think the idea of limited, and expanding [strikes] is something that is definitely on the table,” said Brian Carter, an Iran-focused research manager at the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project.
Even a limited strike, though, could send both nations down an escalatory path, said Jennifer Kavanagh, the director of military analysis at Defense Priorities.
A limited strike is “something the military could try, but the idea that Iran isn’t going to retaliate, to me, seems unlikely.”
Iran has threatened to unleash attacks on U.S. troops in the region if Trump. On any given day, there are between 30,000 and 40,000 troops in the region, according to Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command.
“They’ve made it clear they will retaliate, and then once they retaliate, the U.S. will have to retaliate,” said Kavanagh. “Then we’re into a cycle of strikes.”
State of the Union looms over Trump threats
Trump is set to deliver his State of the Union address to Congress on Feb. 24.
After coming under criticism from MAGA Republicans for his frequent meetings with foreign leaders at the White House and overall focus on waging war and forging peace deals, the president has increased his domestic travel ahead of the midterm elections and held more economic events. He has mostly kept his meetings with visiting leaders behind closed doors after publicly broadcasting many of them in his first year in office.
The optics of Trump hitting Iran for a second time, just as he’s due to barnstorm the country coming out of the address as part of an affordability-focused tour in battleground areas his party needs to win to retain control of the House of Representatives, would not be ideal.
Trump first attacked Iran in June 2025, when U.S. military planes at his direction dropped more than a dozen penetrating bombs on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Now, he has dispatched a growing bevvy of military assets to the region to bolster his threats.
An aircraft carrier and a dozen warships are currently deployed in the region, and dozens of fighter jets, including F-22s and F-16s, headed towards U.S. bases in the Middle East in the last week, according to open source accounts and news reports. They were accompanied by air tankers used to refuel planes while in flight. Another aircraft carrier is on the way to the region, with more naval destroyers in tow.
The entirety of the Gerald Ford carrier strike group and full U.S. military assets are not expected to arrive in the region in mid-March, the senior administration official said.
Allies have reportedly signaled they aren’t willing to back up the United States if Trump launches an attack. The London Times reported on Feb. 19 that the United Kingdom will not allow Trump to use its military bases for an attack, following similar statements from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Given the massive amount of U.S. military firepower in the region, anything is possible, Carter said.
“The U.S. military has broad enough assets to do basically anything from a relatively limited strike that would intend to push Iran in the right direction on negotiations, all the way up to a strike that intends to actually topple the regime itself,” he said.
The more pressing question, Kavanagh said, is the “day after strategy.”
“There is no short, limited campaign here,” she said.
