‘Swift, decisive blow to regime’: What Donald Trump wants US military intervention in Iran to be

Two weeks after President Donald Trump said that the US was “locked and loaded and ready to go” in support of protesters if Iranian authorities continued to kill them, there is still no clarity on if and when Washington would intervene in the Islamic Republic militarily. Demonstrators wave pre-revolution Iran flag and posters of Iran’s exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi during a rally in support of Iran’s anti-government protests, in Holon, Israel Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) While some US allies believe the military intervention is imminent, others are of the opinion that the Iranian regime has not been weakened sufficiently to be toppled. As speculations continue over the possible US intervention in Iran, NBC News reported that Trump wants it to be swift and decisive. Trump has told his national security team that he wants any US military action in Iran to deliver a swift and decisive blow to the regime and not spark a sustained war that dragged on for weeks or months, NBC News, citing people familiar with the discussions, reported. “If he does something, he wants it to be definitive,” one of the sources told NBC News. The report added that on Tuesday, Trump outlined to his national security team what he wants any US military action in Iran to achieve. Two officials told the outlet that the Defense Department was to present tailored options to meet his objectives to Trump on Wednesday. The US Central Command had prepared military options for Trump, which were presented to him in recent days and now have been refined, the report added. On Wednesday, Trump had said that the killings have stopped in Iran and the executions won’t take place, while adding that “I hope it’s true. Who knows?” One of the US officials who spoke to NBC News said Trump is ready to follow through on his repeated promises to protesters in Iran. On Wednesday, amid threats from Iran to target US allies in the region and military bases there, Washington had began withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East. “All the signals are that a US attack is imminent, but that is also how this administration behaves to keep everyone on their toes. Unpredictability is part of the strategy,” a Western military official told Reuters later on Wednesday.

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