US President Donald Trump could launch a strike in the Middle East.

14:53, Fri, Feb 20, 2026 Updated: 15:26, Fri, Feb 20, 2026

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Trump (Image: Getty)

Donald Trump has said he is "considering" a strike in Iran as war fears soar in the Middle East. Bloomberg journalist Nayla Razzouk wrote on X that the US president "says he is considering a limited strike on Iran", after officials told the Wall Street Journal the same thing. 

The outlet reported that Trump is mulling an "initial limited military strike" to force Tehran to meet his demands for a deal over its nuclear weapons. An attack would be the first step to pressure the regime into an agreement without triggering major retaliation. People familiar with the matter said action could be taken in mere days to target military or government sites.

*TRUMP SAYS HE IS CONSIDERING LIMITED STRIKE ON IRAN

— Nayla Razzouk (@nayrazz) February 20, 2026

They said Trump's senior aides have repeatedly presented this as an option to him, though it remains unclear how seriously he's considering it.

If Iran still refused to cooperate, the US would then launch a bigger campaign against its facilities, potentially to topple the regime.

Officials added that military action would come in the form of a "weeks-long campaign" that could become a "full-fledged war", the Daily Mail reports. They said it could prove "existential for the regime" and have a "dramatic influence on the entire region".

This comes after the US president warned that "bad things" will happen if Tehran doesn't agree to a deal on nuclear weapons during the first Board of Peace meeting in Washington.

He said: "We may have to take it a step further, or we may not. Maybe we’re going to make a deal. You’re going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days."

The US has already built up its forces in the Middle East in recent weeks, moving aircraft carriers, fighter jets, submarines and other resources to the region.

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Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to support Trump's threats of military intervention in Iran after the regime killed over 7,000 people in recent protests over clerical rule and the country's ailing economy.

Conservatives said they backed action to stop Iran from gaining nuclear weapons, and called on the Prime Minister to let US forces use air bases at RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, and in Diego Garcia, on the Chagos Islands.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said: "Iran’s nuclear programme has been a grave threat to Britain and our allies.

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"That is why Conservatives supported the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last summer. Iran must never obtain a nuclear bomb.

"While speculative, if the US judges that further action is needed to deal with that specific threat, and if again we believe such action is in our national interest and to protect vital UK security interests, then we should grant the use of our bases if and where required, including RAF bases in the UK, and Diego Garcia."