President Trump considered abandoning nuclear negotiations and resuming full-scale strikes on Iran, holding recent calls with Defense Secretary Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Caine to discuss 'finishing the job,' but decided to stick with the diplomatic track for now, according to American officials cited by the Wall Street Journal.
According to a Wall Street Journal report Wednesday, citing American officials familiar with the matter, President Trump considered abandoning nuclear talks with Iran and resuming full-scale military strikes. Over recent days, Trump held discussions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine on the option, which some officials described as 'finishing the job.'
Despite the discussions, Trump has not made a final decision and told aides he believes a full-scale campaign could ultimately harm Washington's chances of dismantling Iran's nuclear program, the report said. Trump emphasized that, for now, he is satisfied with the current policy of targeted strikes whenever Iran violates the memorandum of understanding.
As The Zioneer reported earlier Wednesday, Trump also told aides he is comfortable with nuclear talks continuing beyond the August 18 deadline (60 days). The report follows similar Axios reporting earlier this week that the White House was weighing a short but extensive military campaign to break the negotiation deadlock. Administration officials acknowledged that resuming full-scale conflict would constitute an admission that the Iran agreement had failed.
11 developments
- StrongDefense Minister Katz speaks with US counterpart Hegseth
- DevelopingTrump says he held phone conversations with Iranian officials
- StrongTrump expected to meet Pentagon, defense industry leaders Wednesday on post-Iran-war arms production
- DevelopingTrump reportedly agrees to private meeting with Khamenei at Iran's request
Source and signal
- Internal intake