Trump holds Situation Room meeting on Iran strike options (axios.com)

President Trump held a Situation Room meeting on Wednesday afternoon to discuss potential new strikes against Iran, hours after telling reporters the U.S. would "hit them again hard today," two U.S. sources said. Zoom in: The sources said one option Trump is considering is launching an operation that is big in scale but short in duration, with the aim of pressing Iran to change its position in the negotiations. The sources did not provide specifics. State of play: Qatari mediators held talks with Iranian officials on Wednesday in Tehran to try and restore some momentum behind the deal the U.S. and Iran have been negotiating for weeks. Barring a breakthrough, U.S. strikes could follow. The U.S. struck Iranian radar and air defense sites on Tuesday evening in response to the downing of a U.S. helicopter, but those strikes were calibrated to avoid casualties and leave open the possibility of a deal. The Situation Room meeting was attended by Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, White House envoy Steve Witkoff and other senior officials, the sources said. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth joined the meeting from CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa. "If they are not gonna make a deal we are gonna hit them hard," Hegseth told soldiers while in Florida, echoing comments Trump made earlier on Wednesday. The White House didn't respond to a request for comment. Behind the scenes: Trump had been growing increasignly frustrated over nearly two weeks of waiting for an Iranian response to his latest offer. Go deeper