U.S. military planning related to Iran has entered an advanced phase, with potential options including strikes against specific individuals and even the possibility of pursuing regime change in Tehran, if authorized by President Donald Trump, two U.S. officials said.

The U.S. officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the planning, did not offer further details on which individuals could be targeted or how the U.S. military could attempt to carry out regime change without a large ground force, The Caspian Post reports.

Pursuing regime change would mark another shift away from Trump's vows during the presidential campaign to abandon what he has called the failed policies of past administrations, which included military efforts to topple governments in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Trump has assembled a massive amount of firepower in the Middle East but most of the combat capabilities are aboard warships and fighter aircraft. Any major bombing campaign could also count on support from U.S.-based bombers.

One of the U.S. officials noted Israel's success targeting Iranian leaders during its 12-day war with Iran last year. At the time, regional sources told Reuters at least 20 senior commanders were killed, including the armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri.

"The 12-day war and Israeli strikes against individual targets really showed the utility of that approach," the U.S. official said, adding that the focus was on those involved in command and control of IRGC forces.

Still, the official cautioned that targeting individuals requires additional intelligence resources. Killing a particular military commander would mean knowing their exact location and understanding who else might be harmed in the operation.