President Donald Trump said he is close to deciding whether to launch what he called a “massive attack” against Iran, adding a sharper military threat to a crisis already stretching across the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, and Capitol Hill.
The remarks were first reported by Axios and were quoted Thursday by The Guardian and The Jerusalem Post. “I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,” Trump said, according to those reports.
Trump said he had not made a final decision and acknowledged that a larger attack would carry consequences. He also said Israel would join quickly if asked, while insisting the United States did not need help. The Jerusalem Post, citing the Axios interview, also quoted Trump as saying Iran wants to negotiate but has not “received enough pain yet.”
Why This Is a New Escalation
The latest statement goes beyond the bridge-and-power-plant retaliation threat Trump made earlier this week. It frames the next possible U.S. move as a larger combat operation, not only a proportional response to Iranian or Houthi attacks on ships.
That distinction matters because U.S. forces have already been striking Iran for consecutive nights, while the conflict has spilled into Gulf states and the Red Sea. The Guardian reported that Trump’s comments came as Brent crude again pushed above $100 a barrel and after Houthi attacks on Saudi-linked tankers raised fears that the Bab el-Mandeb route could become a second energy chokepoint alongside Hormuz.
The Red Sea threat has become more serious because Saudi Arabia has been using western ports as an alternative outlet while Hormuz remains disrupted. If Houthi missiles and drones can threaten that route, the war pressure moves from one maritime bottleneck to two.
Congress Sends a Mixed Signal
The same day, Congress showed how politically strained the war has become. The Associated Press reported that the House voted 214-208 to pass a resolution seeking to halt U.S. military action in Iran unless Congress approves it. AP said the Senate then narrowly rejected a similar measure, 47-49.
The House vote was the second such warning to Trump. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who led the measure, said the war has “no clear mission, no strategy, no end goal,” according to AP. The Guardian reported that the same four Republicans who backed a similar June resolution again joined Democrats in support.
The votes are largely symbolic because the Trump administration has argued war powers resolutions are unconstitutional. Still, the timing is important. Trump is now openly describing a possible larger attack at the same moment lawmakers are again trying, and failing, to draw a legal boundary around the campaign.
The UN Is Warning the Region Could Tip Further
The United Nations also warned this week that the conflict is widening. UN News reported that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres remains deeply concerned by the “continuing and expanding military escalation” between Iran and the United States.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the crisis has already affected Iran, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. He also said attacks on civilian infrastructure, including power plants, desalination sites, hospitals, and water supplies, must stop.
The UN statement called for intensified diplomacy and the restoration of navigational rights around the Strait of Hormuz. That diplomatic push now runs against Trump’s warning that an even larger U.S. attack may be near.
What to Watch Next
The immediate question is whether Trump’s comment is a pressure tactic before renewed talks or a signal that the White House is preparing a broader strike package. The distinction may not stay theoretical for long. Shipping routes are already being rerouted, oil markets are reacting, and congressional attempts to slow the war have not produced binding limits.
For now, the new angle is not simply that the U.S. is still striking Iran. List25 has already covered the nightly strike cycle and the arrival of heavier bomber options. The fresh development is that Trump has personally described a possible next step as a “massive attack” and said a decision is close, while Congress and the UN are both warning that the war is moving beyond any clean endpoint.
Sources: The Guardian; The Jerusalem Post; Associated Press; UN News.