President Trump\u2019s top national security officials are set to brief him Tuesday with options for the U.S. to respond to the Iranian regime\u2019s deadly use of force against protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump has threatened military intervention and said he is looking at \u201cstrong options\u201d<\/strong> to respond to what human rights groups allege is the killing of hundreds of protesters and injuring of thousands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Former U.S. officials and analysts say a range of options are available to the president that span the spectrum from diplomacy to sabotage and military action<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While it\u2019s unclear whether U.S. actions would help protesters<\/strong> break the regime, observers agree the country\u2019s Islamic rulers have rarely been weaker, facing mass economic discontent, severe water shortages a military weakened by conflicts with Israel and the U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll these things matter. Do they matter enough? Nobody knows<\/strong>,\u201d said Ilan Goldenberg, senior vice president and chief policy officer at J Street, an advocacy and lobbying organization centered on U.S. policy toward Israel and the Middle East. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Military strikes would likely be calibrated to inflict damage toward specific aims<\/strong> \u2014 like protecting protesters or taking out specific leaders \u2014 while guarding against retaliation that risks escalation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, warned on Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be \u201clegitimate targets\u201d<\/strong> if Trump ordered military strikes against the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some options floated by analysts and former U.S. officials include strikes on Iranian military or security installations<\/strong> involved in harming protesters, or an operation targeting Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Trump\u2019s capture this month of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro demonstrated impressive U.S. military capabilities, former U.S. officials say that Iran\u2019s geography and the positioning of American military assets make such an operation against Khamenei highly unlikely<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The U.S. moved both aircraft carrier strike groups out of the Mediterranean Sea<\/strong> in 2025 as it shifted assets to the Caribbean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt\u2002<\/u><\/a>on Monday said \u201cdiplomacy is always the first option for the president,\u201d but added all options remain open, including airstrikes<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n