Trump Orders New Weekend Strikes on Iran's Energy Infrastructure, WSJ and CBS Report

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that President Trump has ordered a new attack on Iran that could begin as soon as this weekend and last a few days, according to U.S. officials cited by the paper.

CBS News, citing multiple sources, reported the plan goes further than prior operations. The United States and Israel are preparing what could be one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date against Iran's energy infrastructure, with strikes possible throughout the weekend. CBS reported there was some discussion about trying to conclude by the time financial markets open Monday, given concern about how the bombings will affect the U.S. and global economy, but an end point wasn't locked in as of Friday.

Trump told reporters Friday he plans to resume heavy military strikes to force Tehran to the negotiating table, predicting that if the U.S. hits Iran hard enough, the regime will eventually "peter out." Speaking at Camp David, he made clear the Iranians can't be trusted: "Well, they always want to talk, but they break their words so often," he said, adding, "All they do is make me angry."

Treasury squeeze adds to military pressure

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Iran is unable to pay its own troops, though he offered no specific evidence for the claim, as the U.S. continues searching for Iranian assets to seize "all around the world." This follows new sanctions rolled out by Washington on Thursday.

Iran, for its part, claims a drone struck a U.S. base in Kuwait. This came after a stretch with no new U.S. strikes overnight, according to reporting aggregated by ground.news. Oil prices have risen amid fears of a wider regional conflict and the absence of any active negotiating track between Washington and Tehran.

A war most Americans don't want

A new AP-NORC poll found most Americans say the war with Iran, which began Feb. 28, has not been worthwhile, and Trump's approval rating on Iran has fallen slightly since last month. About two-thirds of U.S. adults hold this view, including the vast majority of Democrats and independents, as well as about 37% of Republicans.

That finding is significant given what's reportedly being planned: a campaign targeting energy infrastructure, the kind of operation that historically risks the civilian and economic disruption that makes wars drag on and erodes public support.

There's a case for the administration's approach. Iran's regime has a documented history of violating past agreements and funding proxy militias, and the Israeli military said this week it destroyed a Hezbollah tunnel network in the Beaufort area, built over two decades, which Israel says was planned and funded by the Iranian regime and used to launch drones, UAVs, and missiles toward Israel.

But the polling reality cuts against the administration's room to maneuver. CBS's own reporting notes officials discussed timing strikes to finish before Monday's market open because of concern about economic fallout — suggesting the administration itself sees that downside as real.

Trump, for his part, told Fox News the fight is "going well" and that American forces are "hitting them very hard," adding: "We'll be hitting them. We'll be hitting them very hard. At some point they're gonna say, 'We just can't take it anymore.'" He suggested strikes will continue in the coming weeks and said he's losing faith in talks with Iran "because they lie."

What happens next is straightforward to track. Either the strikes begin this weekend as WSJ and CBS report, wrap up in a few days as some officials reportedly hope, and markets open Monday without major disruption — or they don't stay contained, oil keeps climbing, and the AP's polling numbers become a bigger political problem for Trump than Iran's regime has been.