US military pressure on Iran intensifies as Trump warns of strikes, carriers mass and White House prepares bunker-busting bomb plans

President Donald Trump has warned that the US may have to strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility, as the White House and Pentagon have drawn up plans to deploy the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb — the largest non-nuclear US weapon — against Iranian military sites if ordered. According to the Institute for the Study of War, Iran struck at least 24 commercial vessels in waters near the Strait of Hormuz across a two-week span, while Britain's Royal Navy monitoring body recorded seven additional incidents in just three days. The carriers George Washington and George HW Bush are now operating in the Arabian Sea as senior IRGC commanders publicly warn that another US war would be devastating but "absolutely possible."

An ousted US Army chief had warned in December that THAAD and Patriot missile defence stocks would remain critically low until 2030 — months before the Iran war began.

IRGC deputy commander Major General Mostafa Izadi declared Iran is "ready to carry out the most powerful operations," while a security chief warned US data centres and AI infrastructure are "within range."

Inside Iran, ordinary citizens describe shopkeepers letting neighbours take essentials on credit as IMF forecasts steep price rises and economic contraction for 2026.