Name: US President Donald Trump 'considering' military strikes on Iran | BBC News
Uploaded: 2026-02-21T21:51:52.000Z
Duration: 5 min 50 s
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The American military buildup in the Gulf continues amid tensions with Iran as more US Warships head to the area.

President Trump has reiterated that he is considering a limited military strike against Iran if it fails to make a deal over its nuclear program.

Our defense correspondent Jonathan Beale has more.

This week, it's Revolutionary Guard putting on a show of force in the Gulf of Oman, a signal it's ready to resist any attack.

President Trump has made clear the clock is ticking.

We're either going to get a deal or it's going to be unfortunate for them.

I would think there will be enough time, 10, 15 days, pretty much maximum.

The surge of US military power is increasing.

More F22 jets arrived in the UK likely heading east.

The last time they crossed the Atlantic in large numbers was when the US Hit Iran's nuclear sites in June.

The US Already had a significant military presence in the Middle east, with bases in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the uae.

But over the past month, there's been a massive military build up.

Squadrons of fighter jets, including F15s, F35s and F22s, have flown to the region.

Just as significant is the arrival of dozens of US Refueling aircraft, as well as early warning radar systems.

But the US Also now has a large naval presence.

The US Aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, loaded with squadrons of fighter jets, is already in the Gulf.

A second carrier group, the USS Gerald R.

Ford, has now reached the Mediterranean, backed up by a dozen warships loaded with Tomahawk cruise missiles.

air and naval buildup in the region since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

At first, President Trump signalled this military muscle was a response to Iranian protests.

Now it's all about getting a deal to stop its nuclear program.

And I think my read of this situation as someone who has been doing this sort of thing for decades now, is that Trump wants a deal, and

sometimes I worry that he wants a deal too badly.

President Trump's already shown he's willing to target Iran's nuclear program, but

last year's Operation Midnight Hammer did not obliterate it.

The question now is whether he'll try again in a mission which could become more protracted, difficult and dangerous.

We can get more on this with Gershon Baskin, who is Middle east director for the International Communities Organization, a UK Based ngo, who joins us from Jerusalem.

What do you make of Donald Trump's latest threat that Iran has 10 to 15 days to agree deal?

Well, this is the hard kind of bargaining that Donald Trump is famous for.

But we watching, observing, trying to figure out what's going on, are in the dark because Donald Trump is completely unpredictable.

We know that this massive amount of military power surrounding Iran right now is costing the US Taxpayers a lot of money.

Every day that they stay there is costing money.

And Trump doesn't like to spend money without having a purpose.

it's also apparently real from the work that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are doing, that they're trying to reach an agreement.

We just don't know what the extent of those negotiations are.

Is it about the support of Iran proxies in the region?

These are the demands that Israel is making.

And there's been high level communication on an hourly basis between the military command of Israel and the United States ongoing for the last few weeks.

And what do you make of the military build up and also the fact that the US does have bases in several Middle Eastern countries there in the region and what their reaction might be.

And what we know is that the United States is building up their defensive capabilities, that there are military bases in the region because those are easier targets for Iran to hit.

If the United States should decide to launch a military attack against Iran, the Iranians will probably retaliate by trying to hit the American bases and probably trying to hit Israel as well.

We saw Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington just in the past week or so.

Is it clear yet what impact last year's strikes on Iran actually had on its nuclear program?

And therefore what will be needed in Israel's view.

I don't think anyone really knows except the Iranians what the extent of the damage was.

What the Israelis would want in the maximum is a regime change in Iran.

But they know that a regime change can't happen from air attacks.

That has to happen on the ground by the Iranian citizens themselves.

At the minimum, what Israel wants is the United States to have an agreement with Iran that finishes completely puts out of work the nuclear program, limits its ballistic missile capability and also stops the funding and support of the proxies like Hezbollah and Hamas and the Houthis in Yemen.

Okay, Gershon Baskin, really interesting to get your analysis.