President Trump held calls focused on whether the US should abandon negotiations and resume full-scale strikes on Iran — a step some aides described as 'finishing the job' — but told his advisers he believes another full-scale round could hurt Washington's chances of ultimately dismantling Iran's nuclear program, according to a report by N12 citing U.S. officials. Trump has not made a final decision.
In the latest twist in the US-Iran nuclear standoff, President Donald Trump held discussions with aides focused on whether to break off diplomacy and resume full-scale military strikes against Iran, according to a report by N12 citing U.S. officials. Some aides described the option as 'finishing the job,' but Trump told his advisers that another round of full-scale strikes could undermine Washington's ability to ultimately dismantle Iran's nuclear program. No final decision has been made.
As The Zioneer reported earlier (Wednesday 02:56 Jerusalem), the president had recently considered returning to full-scale war with Iran and held calls with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine — but chose to stick with diplomatic talks for now. The present report suggests that deliberation is ongoing: Trump continues to weigh the military option, yet remains wary that a new full-scale campaign could sabotage the chance of a comprehensive dismantlement of Iran's nuclear infrastructure.
This internal deliberation follows weeks of escalating rhetoric and reported White House exploration of a short-duration, high-intensity military campaign to break the negotiation deadlock — an option publicly hinted at in Trump's own warnings that the U.S. may be forced to 'militarily complete the job.' The outcome of the internal debate remains unclear, with the president yet to decide between the diplomatic track and a renewed large-scale military campaign.
5 developments
- ConfirmedTrump discussed a short but extensive military operation in Iran, the White House weighs short-duration campaign
- DevelopingTrump tells NYT he will 'renew military attacks' on Iran if nuclear talks falter
- StrongTrump pushes Iran toward talks via diplomatic backchannel — Israeli sources assess next phase
- DevelopingSource close to Trump: He still wants to keep campaign below full-scale war, within ceasefire framework
Source and signal
A single-sourced dispatch is never rated Confirmed or Strong. Its Signal strengthens only when a second, independent source corroborates it.
- Internal intake