Options said to include actions aimed at toppling regime; Iran says it would fight back ‘with everything we have’; Amnesty warns Iran plans to execute protester on Wednesday
By ToI Staff and AgenciesToday, 10:06 am
A US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle assigned to the 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron lands at an unnamed base in the Middle East, January 18, 2026 (CENTCOM/X)
US President Donald Trump is continuing to push his aides to devise what he calls “decisive” military options against Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, days after the American leader called off strikes against the Islamic Republic.
Citing US officials, the report said Trump has repeatedly employed the word “decisive” when discussing what outcome he would want from an American attack on Iran, leading aides at the White House and Pentagon to draw up an array of options for him — among them actions that would be aimed at toppling the regime.
Other options that are more limited in aim reportedly include strikes on facilities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Officials quoted by the US newspaper said Trump still hasn’t ruled out strikes, though it’s unclear what he may ultimately decide, with the deliberations coming as an American aircraft carrier group moved westward toward the Middle East from Asia.
Meanwhile, American fighter jets and other equipment also appear to be moving to the Mideast after a major US military deployment to the Caribbean saw troops seize Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
On Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued the most direct threat yet against the US, warning the Islamic Republic would be “firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack.”
Tehran has said in the past that it would target Israel and US military targets in the Middle East if Trump were to order strikes.
The comments by Araghchi, who saw his invitation to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos rescinded over over a brutal crackdown on recent protests in Iran, came in an opinion article also published by The Wall Street Journal.
The Iranian foreign minister contended that “the violent phase of the unrest lasted less than 72 hours” and sought again to blame armed demonstrators for the violence.
Videos that have slipped out of Iran despite the internet shutdown appear to show security forces repeatedly using live fire to target apparently unarmed protesters, something unaddressed by Araghchi.
“Unlike the restraint Iran showed in June 2025, our powerful armed forces have no qualms about firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack,” Araghchi wrote, referring to the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June. “This isn’t a threat, but a reality I feel I need to convey explicitly, because as a diplomat and a veteran, I abhor war.”
He added: “An all-out confrontation will certainly be ferocious and drag on far, far longer than the fantasy timelines that Israel and its proxies are trying to peddle to the White House. It will certainly engulf the wider region and have an impact on ordinary people around the globe.”
An Iranian official in the region said this week that the authorities had verified at least 5,000 people had been killed in protests in Iran, including about 500 security personnel.
Activists believe the death toll to be far higher, but the numbers cannot be verified amid an ongoing internet blackout.
There have been reports that the families of protesters killed have been coerced into saying their relatives were members of the security forces in an apparent attempt to inflate that toll.
Speaking on Tuesday at the White House, Trump reiterated his claim that Iran halted plans to execute protesters last week after threats from Washington.
“They were going to hang 837 people, and… we let them know that if that happens, that will be a very bad day for them, and they decided not to do it,” he said. “I can’t tell you what’s going to happen in the future, but supposedly they’ve taken that off the table.”
The US president had threatened to strike Iran if it killed protesters, which the regime proceeded to do in the thousands.
But toward the end of last week, the president indicated that he had pulled back from plans to attack due to Iran’s purported cancellation of planned hangings of protesters.
The Islamic Republic has not publicly confirmed those plans.
Amnesty International said Tuesday that Iranian authorities planned to execute 19-year-old Amirhossein Ghaderzadeh on Wednesday over his participation in protests in Rasht in Gilan province.
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Meanwhile, Iran warned Trump not to take any action against the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, days after the US president called for an end to Khamenei’s nearly 40-year reign.
Iranian General Abolfazl Shekarchi was quoted as saying Trump already knew Tehran would not hold back if the tables were turned.
“Trump knows that if a hand of aggression is extended toward our leader, we will not only sever that hand, and this is not a mere slogan,” Shekarchi was quoted as telling Iranian state media. “But we will set their world on fire and leave them no safe haven in the region.”
In an apparent response, Trump repeated his warning that the United States will “wipe” out Iran if Tehran were to assassinate him.
“The whole country is going to get blown up,” Trump said in an interview with NewsNation. “I have very firm instructions — anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth.”
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