WSJ: Trump Team Divided On Iran
After the midterm defeat, some officials urge new strikes while others want to cut losses, US media report, as the military prepares and Washington adds sanctions
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Officials in President Donald Trump’s administration are divided over what to do next in Iran after the Republican midterm defeat, with some urging him to order new military strikes and others arguing he should cut his losses and wind the operation down, The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday, citing sources.
The report points to deepening disagreement inside the administration over the war, and says White House officials had spent weeks discussing how it would affect the elections.
Axios, citing US officials, reported that the US military is completing the preparations needed for a possible resumption of large-scale operations in Iran.
Citing diplomats, it reported that the midterm results could push Trump back toward war. Axios also reported that Trump had leaned toward resuming strikes despite warnings, and at one point considered attacking before the midterms, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged.
Fox News, citing sources, reported that the White House is seriously considering new US strikes on Iran. it also quoted a White House official as saying the election results would have looked completely different without the war. Fox also reported that the possibility of new strikes could stand in the way of changing the leadership of the Department of War, as the Pentagon is now called, and that some officials believe Trump could hold Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accountable for the war’s political fallout.
The Pentagon said Hegseth is committed to serving through Trump’s term.
The State Department said it sanctioned two people and one entity for helping Iran obtain air defense systems, and that the new sanctions aim to block the routes Tehran uses to rebuild its military arsenal. Washington has issued several rounds of sanctions on Iranian procurement networks this year.
Axios also reported, citing sources, that Vice President JD Vance has told Netanyahu in private conversations that he is wrong on everything related to Iran, and that Vance had warned earlier that the war faces broad opposition and could cost Republicans the election. Vance has said publicly that Netanyahu has “gotten some things wrong,” without specifying what, and has been the administration’s lead voice on diplomacy with Iran.
Trump has kept his options open.
He told Fox on Tuesday that he is “not looking to kill lots of people” in Iran, and said part of the Republican loss was due to the war. He told the Financial Times there were no immediate plans to strike.
However, US forces carried out limited strikes on Qeshm Island on Monday, which US officials called defensive, and US media reported that Central Command has prepared plans for strikes that could begin soon, with the USS Theodore Roosevelt en route to the region. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said ending the war would be a priority for his party.
in other hand A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran would respond forcefully to any strikes, and that a deal remains far off.