President Trump has begun to suspect that Iran is deceiving him and is considering returning to full-scale war, according to the Wall Street Journal. He has held recent talks with Defense Secretary Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Caine about the option to 'finish the job,' though a final decision has not been made.
In the latest sign of growing frustration within the White House over the Iran nuclear track, the Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump has begun to believe that Iranian negotiators are deceiving him. According to the report, Trump has held discussions in recent days with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown Jr. (referred to in the source as 'Caine') about returning to a full-scale military campaign — described as 'finishing the job.'
Administration officials told the Journal that Trump has not made a final decision and for now prefers to continue the diplomatic track and conduct pinpoint strikes in case of violations — even if that means exceeding the August deadline for a deal. The hesitancy stems from concern that a return to full-scale war would jeopardize efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear program.
As The Zioneer has reported, this is the latest in a series of indications that Trump is weighing a more aggressive posture. An article published early Wednesday reported that Trump had backed off broad strikes to preserve a chance at nuclear dismantling. A previous bulletin noted that White House officials had discussed a short but extensive military operation to break the negotiation deadlock. This new report marks the first explicit mention of Trump personally suspecting Iranian deception — a significant threshold that may shift the internal debate toward escalation.
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