Donald Trump may escalate the Iran war by sending ground troops to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and deploying special operations forces to seize the nuclear materials the regime needs to build a bomb.

The President’s top military advisers are set to brief him on new options for military action designed to force Iran back to the negotiating table and end the war.

CENTCOM’s secret plans include using ‘short and powerful’ strikes on Iranian infrastructure to force Tehran to show more flexibility on ending its nuclear program, according to Axios.

One plan Trump is expected to review calls for reopening commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz with US ground troops. The strait, which transits one-fifth of all global oil shipping, has been stalled for months.

Another strategy the President will hear involves using special forces to enter Iran and recover its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. During prior negotiations, the regime refused to hand over the nuclear material to the US.

After peace talks stalled earlier this month, Trump imposed a naval blockade on all Iranian ports in the Gulf.

Tehran, meanwhile, has shut down oil shipping lanes by attacking tankers with speedboats and laying sea mines in the strait.

Trump’s new pressure campaign to reopen the strait comes as the global oil market has plunged into chaos, driving US gas prices to their highest level per gallon since 2022.

US gas prices rose another 7 cents on Thursday to $4.30 for a gallon of regular, the biggest one-day jump in prices since the start of the war. 

Gas is now at its highest price since the consumer inflation crisis of July 2022, according to the data from AAA. 

Oil prices remain volatile after climbing briefly above $120 a barrel due to market concerns of the Iran war continuing. 

Brent crude, the economic benchmark for global oil, traded above $126 but then fell below $115 a barrel. 

Before the war, the average barrel of Brent traded for approximately $72, according to the New York Times. 

Soaring oil prices are capable of affecting the average consumer far beyond the gas pump, driving up the cost of groceries, shipping, and virtually every consumer good that has to be transported or manufactured.

Trump has stopped short of strikes since an April 7 ceasefire was reached, though gas prices remain high and his poll numbers remain on the wane.

Tehran, meanwhile, is demanding the end of all US economic sanctions as well as full control over taxing oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz.

During a meeting with key staffers in the Situation Room Monday, Trump favored an extended blockade over either a continuation of the strikes or walking away from Iran entirely, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The President believes the economic blockade represents the least risky of the options presented to him, officials said.

An official said that the blockade has decimated the Iranian economy and keeping it from being able to properly store oil.