President Donald Trump said Thursday he is nearing a decision on whether to launch what he described as an unprecedentedly large military strike against Iran, as tensions in the Middle East ratchet higher following Houthi attacks on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.
Speaking to Axios, Trump stated: "I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it." He acknowledged the move would carry consequences but stopped short of committing to action, while suggesting Israel would participate if asked.
The president's remarks came as Brent crude oil prices crossed the $100 per barrel threshold again, underscoring the economic stakes of a potential escalation. Days earlier, the Iran-backed Houthi militia attacked two Saudi Arabian tankers, the Encelia and the Layla, in the Red Sea strait of Bab el-Mandeb, setting both vessels ablaze.
Trump has already threatened "major military punishment" against Iran and the Houthis in response to the shipping strikes. On social media, he wrote that any repeat attacks would result in retaliation, treating the Yemen-based militia as a proxy for Tehran.
The maritime chokepoint is critical global infrastructure, with roughly 12 percent of worldwide trade flowing through it, including a quarter of all containerized cargo between Europe and Asia. Recent Houthi activity has prompted ships to abandon the passage, forcing carriers to use alternative routes from the Saudi port of Yanbu.
Iran reportedly transferred Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel and drone components to Yemen by air on July 13, according to Reuters reporting citing four sources including two Iranian officials. At the time, Tehran was calling on the Houthis to blockade the Bab el-Mandeb strait entirely.
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres told the Security Council that the region was being pushed to the "edge of the unimaginable," describing a dynamic in which one crisis feeds into the next. "The situation is getting out of control," he said, warning that political objectives were becoming obscured by confrontation itself.
The UK has temporarily withdrawn diplomatic staff from Iran, while Germany announced plans to pull two naval vessels from the Red Sea. Israeli cities have opened bomb shelters, and the U.S. State Department cautioned Americans in the region that flights could be cancelled.
Trump's escalatory rhetoric has intensified markedly. He has hinted at bombing underground tunnel networks at a site Israel calls "Pickaxe mountain," where centrifuges allegedly used for uranium enrichment are hidden. Earlier this week, he stated the U.S. would destroy a bridge or power plant for each Iranian attack on ships in the strait.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at an Asean conference in Manila, said Trump was pursuing a "head for an eye" response following deaths of U.S. service members in an Iranian strike on the Muwaffaq Salti airbase in Jordan. Rubio claimed Iran was "begging for a deal" and insisted the country would "pay a very heavy price."
The escalation trajectory has alarmed lawmakers at home. The House of Representatives narrowly passed a resolution Thursday to halt U.S. military action in Iran, the second such vote warning the president away from further strikes.
Trump has separately conditioned a promised U.S. civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia on the kingdom normalizing relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords. The announcement caught Riyadh off guard, with reports later indicating Trump had not discussed the requirement with Saudi leadership beforehand.
Author James Rodriguez: "Trump is talking himself into a corner with rhetoric that keeps escalating faster than actual strategy, and Congress is watching closer now."
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