US President Donald Trump is considering a range of actions against Iran, including targeted strikes on leaders and security forces, in an effort to encourage renewed protests, according to multiple US sources.

Two US sources said Trump wants to create the groundwork for “regime change” following Iran’s recent violent suppression of nationwide demonstrations, murdering thousands of people.

To that end, the president is reportedly reviewing potential targets such as senior commanders and entities responsible for the bloodshed, hoping that such moves might embolden protesters to seize government and security installations.

One source said that advisers have also floated the idea of a larger-scale strike aimed at inflicting sustained damage—potentially targeting Iran’s ballistic missile infrastructure, which threatens US allies in the region, or elements of its nuclear program.

The second source emphasized that Trump has yet to make a final decision and is still weighing whether to pursue a military response at all.

The recent arrival of a US aircraft carrier group in the Middle East has expanded Washington’s ability to act militarily, following Trump’s repeated warnings that the United States could intervene in response to Tehran’s crackdown.

A senior Israeli official with direct knowledge of planning between Israel and the United States told Reuters that Israel does not believe airstrikes alone can topple the Islamic Republic, if that is Washington’s goal.

“If you’re going to topple the regime, you have to put boots on the ground,” he said, noting that even if the United States killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran would “have a new leader that will replace him.”

The official added that only a combination of external pressure and a coordinated domestic opposition could alter Iran’s political course. While Iran’s leadership has been weakened by the recent unrest, the official noted, it still maintains firm control despite the ongoing economic crisis that initially fueled the protests.

Multiple U.S. intelligence assessments have reached a similar conclusion, finding that the underlying conditions that triggered the demonstrations persist and continue to strain the government, though without causing any significant internal fractures, according to two people familiar with the reports.

A Western source added that Trump’s objective appeared to be engineering a change in Iran’s leadership rather than the outright collapse of the regime—an outcome akin to the situation in Venezuela, where U.S. intervention replaced the president without dismantling the broader governing system.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)