Trump Planned to End the War with Iran with a Victory Declaration — The Wall Street Journal
U.S. President Donald Trump spent several weeks laying the groundwork for declaring victory in the war with Iran, but Tehran has set tougher conditions for reaching an agreement.
The Wall Street Journal reports this, citing U.S. officials. According to the newspaper’s sources, Trump even raised the possibility of walking away from a new nuclear deal with Iran in private conversations with his closest aides.
At the same time, reaching an agreement has become more difficult after Tehran put forward tougher demands regarding the guarantee of free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
A White House spokesperson stated that the U.S. has already achieved all of its military objectives regarding Iran. Trump is currently focused on restoring a stable flow of energy resources through the strait, but Washington does not rule out a military option if Iran continues to attack ships.
U.S. officials also assert that Trump considers it unlikely that Iran will resume its nuclear program during his presidency, following the U.S. destruction of three major Iranian nuclear facilities last year.
According to them, if Washington is able to contain Tehran’s nuclear program and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz resumes, Trump will likely extend the current truce indefinitely.
In addition, the U.S. may lift the military blockade of Iranian ports if Tehran fully reopens the Strait of Hormuz.
Source: The Wall Street Journal.
As a reminder, the U.S. Senate supported a bill providing temporary funding for the federal government but did not agree to the Trump administration’s demand to allocate approximately $70 billion for military spending related to Iran.
Despite large-scale U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, its nuclear program has likely not been completely destroyed. According to The New York Times, Tehran may have retained stockpiles of highly enriched uranium that could potentially be used to quickly produce up to ten nuclear warheads.
