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United States President Donald Trump has in recent days considered options for a return to full-scale war in Iran, but has not decided to move forward on the matter at this time, the Wall Street Journal reported on June 30.
According to the report, Trump was briefed on various military options to “finish the job” by top defense officials. However, the U.S. president has said he fears a return to war could harm the prospects of an eventual diplomatic solution and of dismantling the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
Trump also indicated a willingness to let the indirect negotiations with Iran in Qatar extend past the 60-day deadline on August 18, per the report.
It also said that Trump is content with continuing to carry out limited strikes on Iranian targets if the Islamic Republic breaches the terms of the memorandum of understanding currently in place, as has repeatedly taken place recently.
U.S. and Iran clashed over the Strait of Hormuz in recent days after Oman announced an alternative route through the waterway along its shoreline in cooperation with the International Maritime Organization.
Two ships were hit along the route, with the U.S. Central Command holding Iran responsible and launching two waves of strikes against the Islamic Republic. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded both times, hitting American bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Talks between the U.S. and Iran kicked off in the Qatari capital, Doha, on July 1 as planned before, although in an indirect format.
All recent developments indicate that the two sides are far apart on key pillars of the initial deal, from the future status of the Strait of Hormuz to core nuclear issues.
Interestingly, the Journal’s report came just a day after the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit of the U.S. Marine Corps arrived in the Middle East with some 2,500 marines. The deployment was in violation of the deal with Iran, which states in its ninth term that “the United States of America will not impose any new sanctions and will not deploy additional forces in the region.”
This shows that the Trump administration is not just considering military options to resume the war on Iran, but actively preparing for such a possibility.
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