Is War Imminent? Trump's New Military Strategies Against Iran Revealed

Shin Joo-won | 2026.05.02

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U.S. President Donald Trump[AP=Yonhap file photo][AP=Yonhap file photo]
U.S. military leaders reportedly briefed President Donald Trump on a new operations plan targeting Iran, raising the prospect of imminent conflict. According to Israel’s N12 on the 1st (local time), two senior U.S. officials said U.S. Central Command commander Brad Cooper and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Cain delivered a 45-minute briefing to Trump on the Iran plan on the 30th (Eastern Time). N12 noted Trump received a similar briefing on Feb. 26 — two days before the U.S. and Israel reportedly carried out a surprise airstrike on Iran — and said that briefing helped shape his decision to move toward military action. The network interpreted the briefings as indicating Trump is weighing options to break the diplomatic stalemate with Tehran or to resume hostilities to deliver a decisive strike before any ceasefire. Multiple sources told reporters that CENTCOM has drawn up a short, high-intensity air campaign that would likely focus on key Iranian infrastructure. One source said planners may also have presented an option to seize and control portions of the Strait of Hormuz to reopen commercial and tanker traffic; that plan could include ground-force operations. N12 added that a U.S. special operations mission to seize Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium is among the options under consideration.
U.S. Apache helicopter on patrol over the Strait of Hormuz, released by U.S. Central Command[AFP=Yonhap file photo][AFP=Yonhap file photo]
Analysts are watching those reports alongside accounts that the U.S. is considering deploying advanced strike capabilities to the region to reach deep into Iran. Bloomberg, citing an anonymous official, reported that CENTCOM has requested deployment of the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) system known as "Dark Eagle" to the Middle East — a capability that could be used to target Iranian ballistic-missile launchers directly. Dark Eagle is designed to glide at speeds above Mach 5 and execute evasive maneuvers against air-defense interceptors, though it has not yet been used in combat. #IranWar #MiddleEastWar #Airstrike #Missiles #NuclearFacility #DarkEagle #Trump Yonhap News TV — For inquiries and tips: KakaoTalk/LINE jebo23; Shin Juwon (nanjuhee@yna.co.kr)