U.S. Sends Military Assets to the Region as Trump Keeps ‘All Options’ Open on Iran
“Israel tells Washington it’s ready for Iranian missile barrages but warns a limited strike won’t collapse Tehran’s regime.”
While media speculations regarding a U.S. strike against Iran may have subsided, the genocidal Mullahs in Tehran shouldn’t take the sigh of relief anytime soon.
As the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Mike Waltz, told the UN Security Council on Friday, President Donald Trump “has made it clear that all options are on the table to stop the slaughter. And no one should know that better than the leadership of the Iranian regime.”
Iran’s dictator, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and his top henchmen are publicly taunting and mocking Trump while admitting that they have massacred thousands of protesters. On Saturday, Khamenei, in a televised address, boasted of slaughtering “thousands” of his own countrymen, while ordering the regime forces to “break the back” of the nationwide uprising, calling it “an American conspiracy.”
According to an investigative report compiled by The Times of London, the Khamenei regime may have killed around 16,500 protesters and injured 330,000 as it brutally quells the protests. The newspaper called it a “genocide under digital darkness,” referring to the near-total internet blackout imposed by Tehran since last Friday.
During a speech in Tehran today, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that "several thousand people were killed" during the protests in Iran by those he described as "seditionists", confirming that the death toll from the protests is in the thousands. pic.twitter.com/jK2445xXVv
— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) January 17, 2026
Tehran’s Prosecutor General, Ali Salehi, in a televised interview, declared that “Trump always talks a lot of nonsense,” referring to the president’s recent statement that “Iran canceled the hanging of over 800 people.” The prosecutor vowed to go ahead with show trials and executions.
As conservative talk radio host Mark Levin noted on X, “Khamenei admits to slaughtering civilians and dares the world to do something about it.”
Khamenei admits to slaughtering civilians and dares the world to do something about it.https://t.co/8TJSCMsMgE
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) January 19, 2026
If Mullahs and their supporters are getting too cocky, thinking they have averted an American strike, they should think again. Even if the prospect of an airstrike is off the table, President Trump may have other options at his disposal.
Last week, the Pentagon briefed him on U.S. capabilities in cyber warfare and PSYOPs, or psychological operations. Such strikes “would send a strong message without a full-scale military response,” Politico observed.
A PSYOP or a cyber strike could also be launched in addition to a conventional military strike, CBS News reported last Monday:
Pentagon planners have also presented cyber operation options and psychological campaigns intended to disrupt Iranian command structures, communications and state-run media, according to the officials.
The officials said cyber and psychological operations can occur simultaneously with traditional military force, in what military planners call integrated operations. They could also be deployed as stand-alone options.
Trump being given the option to wage a cyberattack and/or hit the Iranian security forces killing demonstrators. https://t.co/coHL9cLEH1 pic.twitter.com/AMLNyeWnMR
— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) January 13, 2026
Israel gears up for a possible Iranian strike as the U.S. moves naval assets in the Middle East
Reports in some Israeli media outlets suggested that Israel may have urged President Trump to halt an impending Iranian strike, citing strategic issues. According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel needed time for “military preparedness” in case the Iranian regime launched a full-scale attack. Tehran has threatened to attack Israel, besides U.S. bases in the region, if President Trump orders a strike on the regime’s targets.
Iran, having replenished its stockpile of ballistic missiles since the 12-Day War last summer, would likely try to overwhelm Israeli air defense systems by firing huge barrages of projectiles aimed at civilian and military targets alike.
“When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called US President Donald Trump last week, the Iran attack was delayed,” the newspaper reported on Monday. “Part of the reason that Netanyahu asked for a delay was that Israel was caught off guard at the speed at which Washington suddenly seemed ready to attack, according to foreign reports.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. is bolstering its military assets in the region, a move that would reassure Jerusalem. According to CBS News, on Friday, “the U.S. is sending more military resources to the Middle East in the wake of deadly anti-government protests in Iran.”
Fox News reported on Thursday that, “At least one U.S. aircraft carrier is being moved toward the Middle East as tensions with Iran continue to build, military sources confirm.”
“U.S. military assets from air, land and sea are expected to flow into the region in the coming days and weeks to provide the president with military options should he decide to carry out strikes against Iran, sources said,” the broadcaster added. “The movements are part of what officials described as a process of ‘setting the force’.”
Other reports suggest that Israel, while willing to face an Iranian onslaught, wanted a possible U.S. strike to sound a death knell for the regime, and not be another pinprick that allows it to recover. According to the Israeli news website Ynetnews, on Monday, Jerusalem told “Washington it’s ready for Iranian missile barrages but warns a limited strike won’t collapse Tehran’s regime.”
The Ynetnews added:
According to senior U.S. sources, the message conveyed last week from Israel’s top leadership to the American administration was clear: Israel’s opposition to a military strike at this stage is not rooted in concerns over interceptor shortages or fears of its air defense systems collapsing.
Even in an extreme scenario involving the launch of 700 missiles from Iran—compared to approximately 500 launched during Operation Rising Lion—the strategic cost-benefit assessment in Jerusalem remains fundamentally unchanged. In the view of Israeli decision-makers, if a military operation could lead to the collapse of the Iranian regime, the price would not only be acceptable but worthwhile, particularly given the capabilities pushed to their limits in the recent conflict.
During the fighting, Israel’s multi-layered air defense systems were engaged under unprecedented strain, integrating different defensive layers and platforms from both Israeli and international sources. A comprehensive performance review conducted after the fighting enabled the IDF and the Defense Ministry to distill key operational lessons. Chief among them was the ability to manage future rounds of conflict using fewer, more precise and more efficient interceptors, alongside significantly improved offensive capabilities. Since the war with Iran, major efforts have been made to expand the target bank, improve penetration and precision capabilities, and shorten the time between intelligence gathering, decision-making and execution.
Now, according to assessments in Israel, the U.S. is shifting gears. Washington is building up its regional forces, sending two aircraft carriers—the Lincoln and the Ford—toward the Persian Gulf, deploying cargo aircraft to Diego Garcia, reinforcing allied air defense systems, and increasing multi-domain intelligence collection. The emphasis is not solely on military capabilities, but also on identifying internal vulnerabilities within the Iranian system—economic, social, ethnic and political—that could, when combined with military action, meaningfully destabilize the regime. Simultaneously, serious consideration is being given to the formation of a credible political alternative, based on the understanding that even a successful military operation will not achieve strategic goals without a viable political horizon.
Israel receives three new F35s, bolsters air defense capabilities amid Iranian threats
Amid growing threats from Iran, the Israeli Air Force, on Monday, received three new F-35 jets, taking the existing fleet to 48 aircraft.
🚨 Israel received from the US 3 new F35i supersonic stealth strike fighters pic.twitter.com/vxWiO4H5lp
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) January 18, 2026
“Three F-35i “Adir” fighter aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, landed today (Sunday) at Nevatim Air Force Base. The aircraft will be assigned to the 116th Squadron and the 140th Squadron,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement. “The integration of the new aircraft marks a further enhancement of the “Adir” fleet and contributes to the Israeli Air Force’s operational capabilities.
“Israel recognizes the importance of its defense partnership with the United States, stemming from a commitment to strengthening stability in the Middle East,” the IDF added.
The Israeli military received three F-35 Adir fighter aircraft from Lockheed Martin. The jets landed at Nevatim air base today and will be integrated into the 116th and 140th Squadron. pic.twitter.com/1r4JKBJZ7e
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) January 18, 2026
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
This is taking too long, did they put Bondi in charge?
News reports indicate there’s a shortage of U.S. assets in the region. A carrier strike group’s on the way. Takes about a week. Also Trump’s been moving troops from the US Base in Qatar to protect them from Iranian retaliation. Trump likes to dot all his i’s and cross his t’s before he gives the go ahead. He doesn’t like failure.
I’m not about to claim that Bondi is perfect, but I believe many people do not realize that she actually respects the law, and that she is not always free to act as swiftly as they might prefer on every single issue.
Nope, I suspect the squishes at State are holding forth for now. If I were an Iranian I think I’d been abandoned after the promises of having my back if I went to the streets.
Ayatollah is getting too cocky, thinking he’s averted an American strike. “That wimpy old Trump won’t do anything.”
Instead he ought to be thinking, “The handwriting is on the wall. I’m screwed. Time to pack my bags.”
Someone needs to remind him to pack his pager.
A lot of things to move on the chessboard
Probably should have held
His tongue till he was ready
Various assets almost certainly need to be moved into place, but Trump was likely hoping that his various statements on the matter would deter the mullahs from acting harshly.
While I am NOT in favor of sacrificing the lives of protesting civilians there, I fear that the mullahs actually WILL ease up sufficiently to avoid the sort of military action needed to remove them from power.
You need to get over the desire for a version of Trump that doesn’t exist. Personally I like the version that speaks his mind. Far prefer that to the politicians we’ve always had that never speak what’s on their minds.
Or that have no actual minds to begin with . . .
Who are the fools who think that Trump is going to lay his cards on the table for all to see? Time for the media speculators to sit down and shut up.
send in 1000 drones !
The Mullahs don’t care how many of their people they slaughter. All is right to protect their version of Shia Islam no matter what. Survival at any and all costs just like Hamas and Hezbollah. Their vision of war doesn’t fit the Western concept of war and what is ‘winning’. For them this is spiritual and ordained by their faith.
Which all but guarantees their eventual over throw.
At the age Kameini is now, death will probably take him first.
I’m surprised he sent them to Iraq rather than to Greenland to counter the “armies” sent to defend it by 7 supposedly first world nations. All 54 “troops” combined.
That one guy that the UK sent deserves a carrier strike force to counter.