The American CNN network reported that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering several options to significantly escalate the war against Iran should his latest diplomatic efforts fail.

The War Between Iran and Israel

While the military campaign has so far focused heavily on bombing the country, Pentagon officials have prepared for a next phase of the war, developing scenarios for deploying troops to seize various targets inside Iran, according to more than six people familiar with these discussions.

However, these scenarios not only carry the risk of significant human casualties, but there are also few guarantees they would succeed in ending the conflict.

CNN stated that only a limited number of options remain, whether to secure the Strait of Hormuz or to advance U.S. interests in Iran sufficiently for Trump to declare a convincing victory.

Officials are also increasingly convinced that most, if not all, of these options would likely require troop deployment, according to several sources familiar with the discussions.

U.S. administration officials have also discussed separate ideas for extracting the enriched uranium still buried inside Iranian nuclear facilities—a mission some believe could provide Trump with the clear victory he needs to end the war, according to informed sources.

Officials have also developed options to seize Kharg Island, which handles about 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports, or to carry out an airstrike aimed at virtually eliminating its oil infrastructure.

The administration has also studied the possibility of seizing other strategically located islands near the Strait, which could weaken Iran’s ability to threaten oil tankers passing through this waterway.

Strait of Hormuz

The Strait of Hormuz is a strategically vital maritime chokepoint connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the wider Indian Ocean. Historically, it has been a key trade route for centuries, but in the modern era, its significance is defined by its role as the world’s most important oil transit passage, with about one-fifth of global oil consumption passing through it. This has made it a focal point of geopolitical tensions and international security concerns for decades.

Kharg Island

Kharg Island is a small, rocky island in the Persian Gulf, historically used as a trading outpost and fishing base. It gained major strategic importance in the 20th century after the discovery of oil, becoming Iran’s primary crude oil export terminal. The island’s facilities were heavily damaged during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s but have since been rebuilt and expanded.