Donald Trump is said to be “ready to push the button” on military strikes against Iran, after the U.S. and U.K. withdrew personnel from bases in the Middle East.
The U.S. president has been mulling direct action against Iran, amid ongoing and widespread protests in the country calling for an end to the ayatollah’s regime. Trump has warned there would be “hell to pay” if protesters were killed, but has yet to act despite reports of a death toll now topping 2,500.
A Washington source close to the U.S. administration told The Independent that strikes could be carried out within the next 24 hours.
“President Trump is ready to push the button on Iran,” they said. “It will be a surgical removal of the regime.”
“The one thing that the president is waiting on is that the Iranian banks are on the point of collapse which means the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and others will not get paid once that happens,” they added. “If that happens, then the regime will collapse by itself and the president is waiting on that – but he will not wait long.”
It comes as the U.S. withdrew personnel from its Al-Udeid air base in Qatar on Wednesday, the Middle East’s largest U.S. base housing around 10,000 troops. One official told Reuters the decision was a precaution given heightened regional tensions.
“All the signals are that a U.S. attack is imminent, but that is also how this administration behaves to keep everyone on their toes. Unpredictability is part of the strategy,” a Western military official told Reuters later on Wednesday.
Two European officials added that U.S. military intervention could come in the next 24 hours. An Israeli official also said it appeared Trump had decided to intervene, though the scope and timing remained unclear.
The Independent’s source suggested plans were being drawn up to form an interim government as soon as the regime collapses.
They added that the Trump administration had been in contact with British prime minister Keir Starmer’s national security advisor, Jonathan Powell, but that the U.K. would play no role in the immediate removal of the Iranian regime.
“The UK and Europeans are very happy to complain about Iran but not willing to actually do anything,” they added.
Britain withdrew some personnel from an air base in Qatar on Wednesday ahead of the possible U.S. strikes, The i Paper reported. The British defence ministry had no immediate comment.
Tehran has warned neighbouring countries that it would strike American bases if Trump ordered strikes on Iran. The U.S. president has threatened to intervene for days as the Islamic Republic tries to quell the worst domestic unrest it has ever faced.
The death toll in Iran has risen to 2,571 as protests continue, according to the US-based HRANA rights group, including 2,403 protesters and 147 government-affiliated individuals. The group added that this figure dwarfed tolls from previous waves of protests crushed by the authorities in 2022 and 2009.
HRANA reported 18,137 arrests so far, as Iran’s chief justice visited a Tehran prison holding protesters and said speed in judging and penalising those “who beheaded or burned people” was critical to ensuring such events do not happen again.
Trump has been encouraging protests to continue fighting for their cause, on Tuesday posting that “help is on the way” on his Truth Social platform.
Meanwhile, the fate remains unclear of 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, who was arrested in connection with protests in the city of Karaj and set to be executed on Wednesday. Hengaw, an Iranian Kurdish rights group, said it had not been able to confirm whether the sentence was carried out.
Trump has vowed “very strong action” if Iran executes protesters.
A senior Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tehran had asked U.S. allies in the region, from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to Turkey, to prevent Washington from attacking Iran or else U.S. bases in those countries would be attacked.
