Senior officials in the Trump administration told the New York Times on Friday that Trump has not yet decided whether he would strike Iran.
Three US officials told the newspaper that the options Trump has been weighing include military action targeting Iran’s nuclear program and ability to launch ballistic missiles.
The President is also considering options that would include sending American commandos to go after certain Iranian military targets, the officials said.
They also stressed that the Pentagon must be better prepared before it can carry out any of those options.
The comments follow Trump’s meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Wednesday, during which the Iranian issue was a central focus.
Following that meeting, Trump wrote: "There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated. If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be."
On Friday, Trump ordered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its escort ships, currently deployed in the Caribbean, to be deployed to the Middle East.
Asked about that decision, Trump told reporters the aircraft carrier was sent “in case we don't make a deal, we'll need it. If we don't have a deal, we'll need it. We have one out there that just arrived. If we need it, we have it ready. A big, a very big force," said Trump.
Asked how confident he is that the negotiations with Iran will be successful, the President replied, “I think they'll be successful, and if they're not, it's going to be a bad day for Iran, very bad."
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)