JERUSALEM, Israel – After the first U.S. military strikes against Iran since July, the Trump administration is considering a new strategy that could make limited U.S. strikes a recurring part of the battle for the Strait of Hormuz.
Floating a military strategy one U.S. official called “mowing the lawn,” President Trump is reportedly weighing a CENTCOM plan to periodically target Iranian missile and radar capabilities before Tehran can rebuild them.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, the president simplified his strategy.
“That doesn’t mean we won’t smack them,” he explained. “We’ll see what happens. But we have the Strait of Hormuz in extremely good shape. You know, we’re taking over – many, many ships got through last night, as you know, with the Navy’s assistance. And we’ve been averaging 30 ships a night. That’s a lot.”
Gulf News reports that oil shipping through Hormuz has rebounded to up to two-thirds of pre-war levels.
Trump repeated his vow that Tehran will never have a nuclear weapon. However, he quickly dismissed the idea of using one against Iran.
“Well, I would never say that, but the answer is yes. I ruled out, I rule out no use – there’s no reason for it,” he said, and added, “What a stupid question that is, actually.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is urging the Gulf States to unite against what he calls their “real enemy”: America and Israel.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, speaking from Jerusalem to the Republican Jewish Coalition Leadership Summit in Las Vegas, cautioned that the conflict goes far beyond geopolitics.
He noted, “This is not just a horizontal issue, left versus the right; this is also a vertical issue. This is good versus evil, and we need to begin to frame the fact that some of what we’re saying is not a geopolitical battle and economic battle or military battle or P.R. battle. It is a spiritual battle between the forces of darkness and the forces of light.”
In a closed-door meeting, Vice President JD Vance also addressed the Republican Jewish summit following recent tensions over his criticism of Netanyahu and the vice president’s more cautious approach toward Iran. Vance’s speech was met with applause from the group leader.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, also warned the summit about what he sees as a growing ideological threat.
“Just yesterday, the head of Qatar state-run media declared the need to ‘remove the existence of Jews from the Earth.’ No, what has to be removed from the Earth is money from your institutions and Al Jazeera from your homes,” Leiter warned.
Now, Israel is watching Turkey’s growing military role. Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and nuclear-armed Pakistan held their first high-level meeting on Monday under the new Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, a pact that Turkey claims could expand.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan insists the alliance is not aimed at any country. However, at the same meeting, he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “common enemy of humanity.”
Huckabee says he hopes Turkey becomes a stabilizing force, but that the Turkish official’s words are raising questions about which direction that force may be headed.
