U.S. and Israel Draw Up Plans to Bomb Iran's Power Plants and Refineries, Possibly This Weekend

The United States and Israel are coordinating plans for an extensive bombing campaign against Iran's energy infrastructure, including power plants and refineries, according to multiple sources who spoke to CBS News. Strikes could begin at any point over the weekend, and officials have discussed finishing the operation before financial markets open Monday morning to limit the shock to oil prices.

President Trump has not yet given final approval. Speaking after a Friday cabinet meeting at Camp David, he offered no timetable but left little doubt about his intent. "We'll be hitting them very hard," Trump said. "At some point, they're going to say, 'We just can't take it anymore.'" He also said he was losing patience with Tehran's negotiators, adding that "they break their word so often," and claimed the five-month campaign had already "obliterated their military capacity."

The plan would mark a significant escalation. Iran's refineries and power plants have been repeatedly threatened but largely spared since the spring, when Trump paused strikes on energy targets during a round of talks that later collapsed. A former military official told CBS News that hitting the energy sector is intended to degrade both Iran's ability to fight and the government's ability to function day to day — fuel for military vehicles, electricity for command centers, and the export revenue that pays for both.

Israel's position was less clear. An Israeli official said flatly that "Israel is unaware of a decision to restart full military operations, nor has been requested of Israel to join any military actions against Iran." The White House was more forward-leaning. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said "the United States will win, and Iran will not have a nuclear weapon under his watch." Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the Department of War is "locked and loaded, ready to execute the President's directives at a moment's notice."

The planning follows a violent week. Iranian forces targeted U.S. bases in Kuwait and struck two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Israel detonated roughly 700 tons of explosives near Lebanon's Beaufort Castle in an operation to collapse Hezbollah tunnels. Separately, federal investigators are examining whether Iranian hackers were behind cyber intrusions into water systems across seven U.S. states this week, a claim Trump has publicly dismissed.

The economic stakes are the reason for the weekend timing. Crude prices have climbed steadily since the fighting began, and American oil companies have posted extraordinary results: Exxon Mobil's second-quarter profit doubled to $14.53 billion, up 105%, while Chevron's nearly quadrupled to $12.07 billion, a 385% jump. Gasoline is selling above $4 a gallon nationally. Striking Iranian refineries and export terminals would almost certainly push prices higher still, and administration officials have been openly weighing that cost.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned this week that the conflict is "increasingly becoming a driver of global instability," pointing to snarled supply chains and rising food prices well beyond the Middle East. The reporting was by CBS News correspondents Margaret Brennan, Jennifer Jacobs and James LaPorta.