US President Donald Trump received briefings in recent days on various military options targeting Iran amid escalating tensions reveals The New York Times.
According to the NYT report, US President Donald Trump was briefed on targeted military options against Iran, including strikes on select Tehran sites tied to the regime’s internalsecurity apparatus. These contingency plans blend diplomatic, economic, and military measures to counter escalating violence by Iranian authorities during ongoing nationwide protests.
Earlier, US President said that the United States stands ready to support the Middle Eastern nation as it yearns for “Freedom” like never before, signaling potential aid amid escalating anti-regime unrest. Trump said in a post on Truth Social, “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!”
Senator Lindsey Graham further ignited the speculation on possible US action, posting on X he said , “TO THE IRANIAN PEOPLE: your long nightmare is soon coming to a close. Your bravery and determination to end your oppression has been noticed by @POTUSand all who love freedom. When President Trump says Make Iran Great Again, it means the protestors in Iran must prevail over the ayatollah. That is the clearest signal yet that he, President Trump understands Iran will never be great with the ayatollah and his henchmen in charge. To all who are sacrificing in Iran, God bless. Help is on the way.”
Earlier today, he made fresh statements on the escalating Iran protests, calling for ‘Make Iran Great again’. In a post on X, US Senator Lindsey Graham.“Freedom now, freedom forever for the long suffering Iranian people. Death to the ayatollah’s regime. Make Iran Great Again.”
The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also extended the US’s support to the Iranian protestors, in a social media post on X, he wrote, “The United States supports the brave people of Iran.”
While Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has acussed US of fueling the protest and called Iranian protestors ‘disruptors’, trying to please the US President. In a post on X, on 9th January, he said, “Last night in Tehran & some other cities, a bunch of people bent on destruction came and destroyed buildings that belong to their own country in order to please the President of the US and make him happy.”
Ayatollah Khamenei has challenged the US with Iran’s capability and its armed preparedness against external threats. Earlier in an X post, he went on to say, “Today, the Iranian nation is even more equipped and armed than that day [before the Revolution]. Both our spiritual strength and hard, conventional weapons can’t be compared to what we had before.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s anti-government protests surged across the country for the fourteenth straight day on January 10, 2026, as authorities ramped up security amid spreading demonstrations in multiple cities.
According to The Institute for the Study of War, “Protest activity continues nationwide during Iran’s internet shutdown. CTP-ISW recorded 60 protests across 15 provinces since Jan 10 midnight local time—25 medium-sized, 8 large,” reports ANI.
The protests, initially sparked by soaring living costs, have transformed into a mass uprising demanding the Islamic Republic’s downfall, established after the 1979 revolution.
