American warplanes completed a 13th consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Thursday, as President Donald Trump threatened a "massive attack" while public support for the conflict collapses and U.S. casualties climb past 500. The latest strikes lasted more than two hours, according to U.S. Central Command, targeting Iranian military command centers, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites and maritime capabilities.
Trump hasn't made a final decision on escalating to major combat operations. But he's promised. "I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it," he told Axios Thursday. He's also threatened "major military punishment" for Iran and its Houthi allies after Yemeni fighters struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, extending the war into a second major shipping chokepoint.
Human Cost Mounts as War Drags On
Eighteen service members have been killed in the conflict. More than 500 have been injured. The Pentagon confirmed Monday that nearly 100 service members have been wounded since July 7, though 96 percent of them have returned to duty. The U.S. has surged firepower to the Middle East in recent weeks, sending F-35s and F-16 fighter jets to the CENTCOM theater. Multiple Air Force C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft were flying from Germany to Israel and Jordan last week. More than 150 medics recently arrived at Germany's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a U.S. Army post near Ramstein Air Base, a U.S. official familiar with the matter told The Hill on Thursday.
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28. Tehran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host U.S. bases. U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have since killed thousands and displaced millions. Tehran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz.
War Crimes Warnings Ignored
Trump has threatened to target Iranian energy facilities and bridges. Iran has warned that if the U.S. carried out such threats, Iranian forces would target regional oil, gas, electricity and economic facilities. The 1949 Geneva Conventions on humanitarian conduct in war prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians, and international law experts in the U.S. said in April that such attacks could amount to war crimes after Trump's previous threats. Trump's threat that month to destroy Iran's entire civilization also drew wide condemnation.
Republican Hawks Push for Escalation Despite Public Opposition
Republican defense hawks urged President Trump to unleash major combat operations as he weighed a "massive attack" on Iran. Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said he spoke to the president multiple times this week on Iran and encouraged him to continue pounding the country, with negotiations appearing fruitless. "I've expressed publicly and privately my approval of finishing the job, and realizing that negotiations were getting us nowhere," Wicker told The Hill on Thursday. "I've made it clear that Iran, in my judgment, has no intention of negotiating in good faith or keeping a promise and that it's pointless to pretend that they are a trustworthy negotiating party."
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), a close Trump ally who is vying to be the next chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said the U.S. military needs to clobber Iran "as hard as we possibly can right now." Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), who also sits on the Armed Services Committee, praised Trump for being the only president to "have big enough balls" to bring Tehran to the negotiating table and said what brought them there were "massive bombing strikes."
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.), a former Marine helicopter pilot, said Iran has shown nothing but "defiance" and has not displayed "good faith" in diplomatic talks. "Even when it's violent, because you'll save lives. Ultimately, you save lives by being decisive and violent and turning the people against their own leadership. There's no way that Iran bends to us until we make it so uncomfortable that their people rise up," McCormick said. He said the U.S. needs regime change in Iran.
Democrats Question Strategy as Public Support Craters
Democrats criticized Trump's decision to launch Operation Epic Fury and worked to halt U.S. military operations in the region through war powers resolutions. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a senior member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said, "It's clear, they had no plans." He added, "This administration keeps people in the dark, and the president just makes the decision that he thinks, as he usually says, 'I just call it right.' … It is a stunning way to approach foreign policy."
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa, said the conflict has been "so botched" that it is "by no means clear what is the right move at this time." Sherman also said he has not received a classified briefing on the Iran war recently.
The uptick in kinetic action comes as public support for the war is declining, including among Trump's supporters. Just 24 percent of Americans think the conflict has been worth the cost, a June poll by Reuters/Ipsos found. Nearly 80 percent of respondents said in a Reuters survey released last week that the U.S. military will remain engaged in the war for "an extended period of time." Earlier this week, a Politico poll found that nearly 1 in 5 MAGA voters said the U.S. should end the conflict regardless of the costs. Still, Trump claimed the U.S. is doing "very well" in the war against Iran. "I would say better than anybody expected could be done," the president said Thursday.
Why This Matters:
The disconnect between escalating military action and collapsing public support reveals a dangerous pattern: Americans are bearing the human and financial costs of a conflict that most believe isn't worth fighting, while their elected representatives receive no classified briefings and the administration operates without transparent strategy or congressional authorization. Eighteen families have lost service members. More than 500 troops have been wounded. Thousands of civilians have been killed and millions displaced across the region. The threats to attack civilian infrastructure violate international humanitarian law, according to legal experts who warned in April that such strikes could constitute war crimes. With nearly 80 percent of Americans expecting prolonged engagement and only 24 percent supporting the war, the conflict tests whether democratic accountability can constrain executive military action — or whether casualties will continue mounting while Congress and the public watch from the sidelines.