The US is weighing precision strikes on "high-value" Iranian officials and commanders who it deems responsible for the deaths of protesters, a Gulf official familiar with the discussions told Middle East Eye (MEE), the latter reports.

The strikes could come as early as this week, but that timeline could shift, MEE was told on Monday.

A former US intelligence official told MEE that their understanding of conversations within the administration is that US President Donald Trump has not given up on pushing for “regime change” in Tehran.

Earlier in an interview with Axios, Trump had said that Tehran was interested in a diplomatic resolution of its disputes with the US. At the same time, however, the US leader had emphasized that he has amassed considerable military forces near Iran.

“We have a huge fleet near Iran, and it's bigger than Venezuela's fleet,” Trump had said.

Also, Axios, citing sources, had reported that Trump has not yet made a decision on whether to strike Iran. According to this news website, the US president plans to hold relevant consultations this week.