American defence officials are preparing contingency plans that could see senior Iranian military figures targeted for elimination — including the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — should the current ceasefire between the United States and Iran break down, sources familiar with the planning have told CNN.
The options being developed extend well beyond tactical military targets. Officials are said to be considering so-called “dynamic targeting” strategies focused on Iran’s fast attack boats, minelaying vessels and other asymmetric maritime capabilities operating in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the southern Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. These assets are viewed in Washington as Iran’s primary means of threatening international shipping and disrupting global energy flows through a waterway that carries approximately one fifth of the world’s oil and gas exports.
Beyond maritime assets, planners are also drawing up potential strikes on Iranian infrastructure and energy facilities, and developing a list of senior regime figures and “obstructionists” who could be targeted. One source confirmed that IRGC commander Ahmad Vahidi has been explicitly referenced in those discussions. Vahidi sits on Iran’s Supreme National Security Council — the body that has effectively assumed control of the country’s affairs while Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei remains out of public view, reportedly in hiding following injuries sustained during US-Israeli airstrikes.
Others on that council include parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who has emerged as the regime’s lead negotiator with Washington, hardline Saeed Jalili who represents the supreme leader, President Masoud Pezeshkian and the council’s new secretary Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr.
Despite the scale of the planning, officials have urged caution about what military action could realistically achieve. One source told CNN that even successful strikes in the Strait of Hormuz may not quickly restore safe passage for commercial shipping. “Unless you can unequivocally prove that 100 per cent of Iran’s military capability is destroyed,” the source said, “it will come down to how badly Trump is willing to accept the risk and start pushing ships through the strait.” Concerns have also been raised within US circles about the risk of broader escalation, with officials noting that striking infrastructure would represent a significant and highly controversial step.
President Trump, meanwhile, has continued to publicly portray the Iranian government as fragmented and leaderless in the wake of US-Israeli operations that killed several senior figures. Writing on Truth Social on Thursday, he said Iran was experiencing intense internal conflict between hardliners and moderates, adding that the country had “no idea who their leader is.” Speaking separately, he said American forces had eliminated “three levels of leaders,” leaving the regime struggling to identify who could speak with authority.
The ceasefire, which Trump has extended beyond its original expiry date, is not intended to be permanent, officials stress, and the US military remains on standby to resume operations.
Economic pressure is running alongside the military dimension. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that the American blockade was “completely strangling” Iran’s economy, with the country losing $500 million a day. She claimed Kharg Island — Iran’s principal oil export terminal — was at capacity and that the regime was unable to pay its own personnel as a result of the financial squeeze. The blockade, enforced since 13 April, has redirected at least 33 vessels, with US forces intercepting at least three ships including two in the Indian Ocean. The most recent interception involved a sanctioned stateless vessel transporting Iranian oil, boarded overnight on Wednesday.
