By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-07-23 17:07:11 | Updated at 2026-07-27 12:00:51
3 days ago
Donald Trump said Thursday he was near to a decision on a massive escalation of attacks on Iran as oil hit its highest price in two months and Tehran-backed Houthi rebels opened a new front in the Red Sea.
'I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before,' the President told Axios. 'I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it.'
Trump added that Iran wanted a deal but had not yet felt 'enough pain' to properly negotiate.
He did not say when he would finalize his decision.
Oil prices surged past $100 per barrel for the first time since May 26 as the war escalates after the collapse of the the tenuous ceasefire between the US and Iran.
The US has carried out strikes on Iran for 12 consecutive nights.
The US has beefed up its military presence around Iran, deploying a powerful B-1 bomber for the first time since the end of the ceasefire, surging additional special operations forces to the area, and sending 150 additional medics to a military hospital in Germany that treats wounded soldiers from the Middle East.
Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed two attacks on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea Wednesday night, threatening another disruption to the global energy supply chain.
A June 30 photo of US forces in the Arabian Sea
Analysts warn these attacks could cut off Saudi Arabia's alternative export route through the Red Sea.
Republicans defending slim majorities in Congress fear that rising fuel prices, combined with an open-ended war, could hand Democrats potent lines of attack in the midterm elections.
