At Camp David on August 5, 2026, President Donald Trump declared that the United States is prepared to intensify military pressure on Iran, warning that Washington would "hit them very hard" until the regime reaches a point where it "can’t go on anymore."

This marks a significant shift in U.S. strategy, moving beyond efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear infrastructure to systematically degrading the Islamic Republic’s capacity to govern and sustain itself. Trump’s approach reflects a more dangerous phase in the confrontation between the two nations.

However, Trump’s repeated cancellations of planned large-scale strikes have raised questions about U.S. credibility and strategic coherence. Meanwhile, Tehran, supported by Moscow and Beijing, is exploiting this uncertainty. Trump appears to be placing hopes on a faction within Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Opponents of the Islamic Republic view the potential hardships from disrupting the regime’s critical infrastructure as a painful but necessary transition that could lead to the regime’s collapse. Yet, concerns remain that without leadership from figures such as Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi after a collapse, Iran could face severe instability.

Additionally, closer strategic coordination between the CIA and Mossad is seen as essential to better understand and confront the ideological and operational roots of the Islamist threat that has spread since 1979—a challenge that successive U.S. administrations have often underestimated.

Iran’s regime reportedly won’t negotiate in good faith, according to the report.

Sources