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President Trump has been briefed connected a wide array of subject and covert tools that tin beryllium utilized against Iran that spell good beyond accepted airstrikes, according to 2 Defense Department officials who spoke to CBS News nether information of anonymity to sermon nationalist information matters.
The president's nationalist information squad volition clasp a gathering astatine the White House connected Tuesday to sermon updated Iran options, according to respective different sources acquainted with the matter. It is unclear whether the president himself volition beryllium successful attendance.
As anti-regime protests expanse Iran, Mr. Trump has warned for weeks that helium whitethorn intervene if Iranian information forces termination protesters. He told reporters Sunday that Iranian enactment indicated that it wants to negotiate, but the U.S. subject is "looking astatine immoderate precise beardown options."
Air powerfulness and long-range missiles stay cardinal to immoderate imaginable subject effect successful Iran. But Pentagon planners person besides presented cyber cognition options and intelligence campaigns intended to disrupt Iranian bid structures, communications and state-run media, according to the officials.
The officials said cyber and intelligence operations tin hap simultaneously with accepted subject force, successful what subject planners telephone integrated operations. They could besides beryllium deployed arsenic stand-alone options.
The defence officials did not item what integer infrastructure is nether information for targeting successful Iran oregon what, exactly, the intelligence run against Iran's state-run media would look similar if Mr. Trump were to authorize it.
The 2 American officials emphasized that nary last determination had been made and that diplomatic channels stay open. Still, the expanded paper of options suggests that Washington is preparing for scenarios successful which struggle could widen beyond battlefield strikes to see sustained integer and power campaigns.
CBS News has previously reported that Mr. Trump was briefed connected options for subject strikes successful Iran.
White House property caput Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday that the president is "unafraid to usage subject options if and erstwhile helium deems necessary." She said airstrikes are "one of many, galore options that are connected the array for the commandant successful chief."
Leavitt added that "diplomacy is ever the archetypal option," and said that "what you're proceeding publically from the Iranian authorities is rather [different] from the messages the medication is receiving privately."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reached retired to Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to prosecute successful nonstop diplomatic talks, according to 2 sources with cognition of the talks. A imaginable gathering is nether discussion.
Protesters person taken to the streets successful each 31 provinces successful Iran for 2 weeks, and astatine slightest 544 person been killed, according to the Human Rights Activists News. The bureau recovered that protesters who were killed died by unrecorded ammunition oregon pellet gunfire, predominantly astatine adjacent range.
Late past week, Iranian authorities cut telephone work and net access successful the superior during the protests, according to the net monitoring enactment NetBlocks. On Sunday, Iran's state-controlled media took the antithetic step of airing video showing wide casualties successful and extracurricular a morgue successful a Tehran suburb, a determination that whitethorn person been an effort to amusement sympathy with the protesters and suggest that extremist actors, inspired by Mr. Trump's messages of support, are down the violence, not the Iranian government.
Mr. Trump warned Friday that if Iran begins "killing radical similar they person successful the past, we would get involved," saying: "We'll beryllium hitting them precise hard wherever it hurts."
Asked Sunday if helium would see subject and commercialized installations arsenic morganatic targets, Mr. Trump said "we see things targets … that they wouldn't believe."
Iran has lashed retired astatine the U.S. successful effect and claimed the protests are U.S.-inspired.
"Today similar the past, the US is incorrect successful its calculations astir Iran," Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote connected X Friday.
Seven months ago, Mr. Trump ordered strikes connected 3 Iranian atomic sites during a days-long struggle betwixt Iran and Israel.
Margaret Brennan, Eleanor Watson, Charlie D'Agata, Jennifer Jacobs and Sara Cook contributed to this report.
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