US reported to plan major strike wave on Iran as Tehran threatens retaliatory attacks on Gulf energy sites

Impending US strikes

US media reported on Friday that the United States is on the verge of launching one of its largest attack waves on Iran, potentially beginning as early as this weekend. CBS News and the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said the strikes could target Iranian infrastructure or energy facilities, and that Israel might rejoin the conflict. According to the reports, President Donald Trump has already ordered new multi-day strikes but could change his mind up to the last minute. At a cabinet meeting at Camp David, Trump said:

We will hit them very hard.

The Axios news site added that the attacks could specifically focus on Iran's energy infrastructure, though no final decision has been made.

Iran threatens retaliation

Within hours of the reports, Iran threatened immediate counter-strikes. The Iranian news agencies Tasnim and Fars, citing security circles, said that critical infrastructure sites in Israel and Gulf states were within range of Iranian missiles.

The planned American-Israeli attacks on infrastructure targets in Iran are an act of madness.

A senior security official told Tasnim that a comprehensive counter-strike plan existed, and that Iran had already demonstrated the capability and resolve for such retaliation. Fars specifically warned that globally significant energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates were potential targets.

Gulf energy in the crosshairs

Since the war began in late February, Iran has repeatedly launched missile and drone strikes on targets in Gulf states where US military bases are located. Several times, key energy infrastructure was hit, including Qatar's liquefied natural gas production and shipping facilities and oil installations in Kuwait. While Gulf air defenses have shot down many incoming ballistic missiles, stockpiles of Patriot and other interceptor missiles are reportedly running low, and US reserves have also shrunk significantly. Any new successful strikes on Gulf energy infrastructure could drive global oil and gas prices higher, a dynamic Tehran is using to pressure Trump ahead of US midterm elections in just over three months.

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Wider conflict and chokepoints

Israel and Iran last exchanged attacks directly in early June, and the prospect of Israel joining a new US strike wave has raised the stakes further. Israeli Iran expert Danny Citrinowicz wrote on X that attacks on Iran’s civilian and economic infrastructure were unlikely to force Tehran to back down.

Iran will certainly suffer severe economic damage, but it is just as likely that Iran will in turn raise the costs for its opponents.

He noted that Iran would continue to leverage the Strait of Hormuz, through which a large share of global oil and LNG passes, and could use its Houthi allies in Yemen to tighten pressure on the Bab al-Mandab strait at the entrance to the Red Sea. The US military has meanwhile renewed its naval blockade to cut off Iranian crude export revenues.

Stalled diplomacy and political pressure

Trump, who initially said the conflict would last only a few weeks, now sees the war entering its sixth month with no solution in sight and persistently high energy prices. He expressed frustration with diplomatic efforts, accusing Iran of failing to honor agreements and misrepresenting negotiations. Talks between Washington and Tehran have been deadlocked for weeks. With congressional elections looming, the administration faces domestic pressure to deliver results or risk voter discontent over rising fuel costs and a protracted military engagement.