At a time when American threats to Iran are escalating and diplomatic efforts to end the war are faltering, the administration of President Donald Trump is intensifying its consultations regarding the next stage, amid indications of increasing opportunities for a military option.
In light of this atmosphere, President Trump asked senior officials in his administration to study opportunities to return to “major operations,” hinting at the continuation of hostilities if Tehran did not reach an agreement with Washington.
Axios quoted three American officials as saying that senior officials held a secret meeting at Camp David that lasted hours, to discuss the next steps in the war with Iran, in anticipation of a new phase of the confrontation. The news site explained that Vice President J.D. Vance chaired the meeting in which Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Kean participated.
One of the officials told the site, “Some matters were resolved at this meeting, and others were discussed in depth.”
Pressure on Iran is increasing with the continuation of the war, US sanctions, and deteriorating economic conditions, at a time when the authorities are intensifying their security campaigns against those they accuse of being linked to the United States and Israel, or participating in protest actions. On Saturday, Tehran announced the dismantling of four networks and the arrest of 31 people in Kerman Province, coinciding with the judiciary’s announcement of the execution of a death sentence against a man who was arrested in connection with the January protests. In parallel, the Iranian riyal continued its decline to record a new record level, with the price of the euro exceeding three million riyals on the open market.
4 networks were dismantled and 31 people were arrested
The Iranian Ministry of Security announced the dismantling of four organized networks and the arrest of 31 people in the city of Sirjan in Kerman province, southeast of the country, accusing its members of being linked to “American-Zionist” parties and planning actions targeting security, public and private property.
The Ministry said that the operation was based on reports from citizens and intelligence information, and that investigations revealed, according to its account, plans to cause unrest and carry out acts of sabotage in the streets. She added that the groups were preparing to manufacture large quantities of Molotov cocktails and tools to target surveillance cameras in the city, according to what Tasnim News Agency reported.
The Ministry accused the detainees of participating in acts of violence and sabotage during the unrest that the country witnessed in January, including burning the governorate building, causing damage to banks, government institutions, and public and private property, as well as attacking a police station in an attempt, according to the official version, to seize weapons.
The Iranian authorities did not provide independent details about the identity of the detainees, or the judicial procedures against them, while the arrests come in a tightened security context since the protests that broke out in late December 2025 against the backdrop of economic conditions, before expanding to include political demands.
Execution of a participant in the January protests
In a separate development, the Iranian judiciary announced the execution of the death sentence against Siavush Jamshidi Khairabadi, who was arrested during the January protests, after he was convicted of shooting at the police and committing crimes related to national security.
The judiciary said that Jamshidi fired at least three bullets at police officers on January 8, and that he was arrested two days later in the city of Shahr-e Kord, and he was in possession of a pistol. She also accused him of communicating online with people to organize activities that she described as “anti-security,” and of seeking money in exchange for carrying out a “mission.”
Iranian authorities say that the protests that began on December 28 due to economic difficulties turned into widespread demonstrations demanding an end to the rule of the religious establishment. Armed groups and elements supported by the United States and Israel were also accused of participating in the protests and some acts of violence.
The death penalty announcement comes amid growing international criticism of death sentences linked to the protests. It was reported that dozens of countries expressed their concern at the United Nations Human Rights Council this week about the implementation of death sentences against protesters, and called for them to be halted.
The riyal exceeds the barrier of 3 million to the euro
On the economic side, the Iranian riyal continued its sharp decline in the open market, exceeding for the first time the barrier of three million riyals against the euro.
The price of the euro reached about 3.015 million riyals in trading on Saturday, according to open exchange market data, at a time when the dollar approached 2.7 million riyals. The value of the dollar rose by more than 8 percent in less than a week, according to published market data.
This decline comes at a time of increasing pressure on the Iranian economy as a result of sanctions, restrictions on oil exports, and the costs of war. Recent economic data indicate that consumer prices rose in September by 89.8 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, while average inflation during the previous 12 months reached 73.6 percent.
The decline of the currency leads to an increase in the cost of imported goods, raw materials, medicines, and machinery, which is directly reflected in the prices of local goods and increases the erosion of the purchasing power of families and companies.
War doubles economic pressures
The repercussions of the collapse of the rial are most evident in food prices, which residents in Tehran say have witnessed significant increases in recent months.
According to the numbers contained in the report, the price of a loaf of bread doubled from about 250,000 riyals to 500,000 riyals, while the price of a kilogram of rice rose from 3.5 million riyals to about 5.5 million riyals. Buying meat has become more difficult for an increasing number of families.
In addition to this, the decline in the value of real incomes, with the cost of living rising at a rate that exceeds the ability of many families to keep up, making the economic crisis one of the main factors that increases social pressure in the country.
The monetary crisis coincides with continued external pressure on Iran. After Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic, the United States imposed a blockade on Iranian ports with the aim of increasing economic pressure, while Iranian oil trade declined sharply.
Washington also imposed additional sanctions on parties it says support Iran, including banks and airlines, as part of a policy aimed at reducing Tehran's ability to access foreign currencies and sources of income.
Thus, Iran faces simultaneous pressures on three levels: security and political due to the continued prosecutions related to the protests, economic due to the collapse of the currency and rising prices, and external due to the war, sanctions, and restrictions on oil exports. Together, these factors make it more difficult to contain the social repercussions of the crisis at home.
The emergency alarm sounds over the loudspeakers, and Damon Dennard and other sailors rush to their positions on the deck of the American aircraft carrier USS George Washington. While Denard prepares to load the bombs onto the planes, his colleagues rush to carry out the tasks assigned to them, amid an atmosphere charged with tension and alert.
“It was a tumultuous moment,” says Dennard, 23, a trained aviation weapons technician in the US Navy. Once the warning ended, he took a deep breath and sat on one of the bombs, joking that he had probably expected the task to be easier. “It's crazy, but at the end of the day, it's work,” he adds. "That's all there is to it."
Reuters spoke to dozens of sailors during a rare visit to the aircraft carrier, which plays a pivotal role in the war with Iran. The visit came in a very tense atmosphere, just three days after the US army bombed five Iranian oil tankers, in response to Tehran targeting a US Navy warship.
The deployment of the "George Washington" near the Strait of Hormuz, on a mission whose end date was not set, was a surprise to its crew members, who were transferred from Japan at the end of August to relieve the burden on another American aircraft carrier.
George Washington resembles a floating city. It includes about five thousand individuals, each of whom has a specific mission, starting with Magista Ochoa, who works at the cash register, and does not end with Officer Commander Brody Samaha, known as “The Shooter,” who participates in supervising the launch of aircraft from the carrier’s catapult.
Despite the diversity and variety of tasks, crew members speak of a clear harmony between them while working, especially on the flight deck, where operations require precise coordination and quick response. Samaha says: “It is a dance, in which many people look at each other,” noting that the flight deck is “a very dangerous place, where you should never be complacent.”
“Ouija board”... Aircraft management
Brianna Royston, a night aircraft handling officer, has a special perspective on the complex and dangerous maneuvers that take place on the deck of a carrier. Its mission is to supervise the movement of aircraft, including transporting fighters to the deck and returning them to the hangar via huge elevators.
To organize these operations, Royston uses a tool known in the Navy as a “Ouija board,” which is a model that directly simulates the movement of aircraft on the deck of a carrier, through miniature models arranged according to the actual positions of the aircraft. The board looks like a strategy game, but it is used to manage operations that require high precision and constant coordination.
“We were on high alert last week, with maneuvers and everything, with everything going on,” Royston says, adding that the situation was “kind of crazy and very intense... It’s nerve-wracking, but fun.”
The Iranian government repeatedly denounces US military operations in the Strait of Hormuz. On September 25, the Iranian Foreign Minister said that insecurity in the Strait is “the direct result of the aggressive actions of the United States and the Israeli regime.”
The war began in February with joint strikes carried out by the United States and Israel targeting Iranian sites. Although US President Donald Trump repeated his assurances that the conflict would end soon, its continuation for a longer period than expected prompted the US Navy to use the aircraft carrier “George Washington” to replace the aircraft carrier “Abraham Lincoln.”
In August, reports spoke of deteriorating conditions, low morale, and suicide attempts aboard the “Abraham Lincoln,” which had been at sea since November 2025. In response to those reports, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that the accounts “distorted” reality, praising the sailors who endure harsh conditions.
Long diffusion pressures
Long periods of deployment at sea place great pressure on the mental health of crew members, especially in times of war, and represent a continuing challenge for any naval force. Sailors must maintain high levels of alert and preparedness, a task that becomes increasingly difficult aboard the “George Washington” in light of the risk of being exposed to Iranian attacks with missiles and drones.
“Morale is really important to us,” said Officer Jeffrey Himes, commander of the 5th Carrier Strike Group, stressing the importance of ensuring crew members are able to communicate with their families and receive mail. He added: “Some of these matters affect the ability of sailors to withstand such situations, and this is one of the areas that I focus strongly on.”
Reuters spoke to the sailor, DeAndre Cook, while he was making a video call with his wife in his country, who was carrying one of their two young daughters. Cook said that being away from his family is difficult, but added: “Distance makes the relationship stronger.” Reuters was allowed to visit the aircraft carrier George Washington on the condition that no operational details be revealed, including its exact location.
A young generation learning to grow up
As the fighters took off from the carrier and flew overhead, hundreds of George Washington crew members gathered for a ceremony to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001, events that many of them were too young to remember.
Al-Qaeda's attacks on New York and Washington led the United States to enter two decades of wars, during which it sent its forces to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and other regions. Many Trump supporters hoped that the wars in the Middle East would become a part of the past, before they found themselves facing a new war in the region.
After a sailor sang the national anthem, Ben Gait, the chaplain aboard the carrier, said a prayer as the assembled crew members bowed their heads. “Help us honor those who have gone before us and gone,” Gait said. In a later interview with Reuters, Gait noted that many of the crew members were still learning the basics of maturity, including acquiring patience skills, managing relationships, and dealing with professional expectations.
The Catholic priest said: “A very large percentage of the members of this ship are between the ages of 19 and 24, so they are trying to learn how to be adults while they are here.” He added that some sailors join the Navy to escape small towns or certain conditions in their home communities, but they discover after joining the service that they took with them some problems that they were trying to get away from. “But they come here, and then they realize they brought with them some things that they might have been trying to escape from,” Gait said.
The number of people exceeds the population of a town
For his part, Officer Brian Lasley pointed out the huge size of the aircraft carrier, explaining that the number of people on board exceeds the population of his town, Fredericktown in the state of Missouri, which is 4,429 people according to the 2020 census.
As for Camryn Pollard (24 years old), an internal communications electrical technician third class, he says that he joined the Navy with a sudden decision, after he noticed in his previous job that his older colleagues were dissatisfied with their professional conditions. He added: “I wanted to change things in my life.”
He added that his mother was the most shocked by his decision, while his younger brother thought that joining the Navy was “a rather wonderful thing.”
Despite the nature of the military mission he performs, and the risks and pressures surrounding it, Pollard says he does not think much about it, adding: “It is just work for me.”
