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As U.S. aircraft carriers and hundreds of warplanes deploy across Bulgaria and Greece in preparation for what could be a major military operation, President Donald Trump has yet to decide whether to strike Iran, according to a report by U.S. media outlet Axios.
Senior advisers remain split, with diplomacy still underway even as military options are presented to the president.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Axios that several advisers around Trump are urging him not to bomb Iran, advice Graham said the president should ignore.
Trump has been presented with military options that include killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his son Mojtaba, widely seen as a potential successor, and other senior clerics, the report said.
At the same time, the administration is showing limited flexibility in talks with Tehran. A senior US official told Axios that Washington’s official position remains “zero enrichment” on Iranian soil but said the administration would review a proposal allowing small, symbolic, or “token” uranium enrichment if Iran offers detailed guarantees that its nuclear program would have no path to a weapon.
“President Trump will be ready to accept a deal that would be substantive and that he can sell politically at home,” the official said, adding that any proposal must be detailed and demonstrate that the program would be peaceful.
Despite Trump’s increasingly forceful rhetoric, there is still no unified support within the administration to launch an attack on Iran, according to a separate Reuters report.
White House advisers and Republican campaign officials have urged Trump to focus on the economy, which was stressed as the top campaign issue during a private briefing this week attended by several Cabinet secretaries. Trump was not present at the meeting, according to a person who attended.
Responding to Reuters questions, a second White House official said Trump’s foreign policy agenda “has directly translated into wins for the American people.”
“All of the President’s actions put America first, be it through making the entire world safer or bringing economic deliverables home to our country,” the official said.
The debate comes ahead of the November elections that will determine whether Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress. Losing one or both chambers to Democrats would complicate Trump’s agenda in the final years of his presidency.
Republican strategist Rob Godfrey said a prolonged conflict with Iran could pose serious political risks for Trump and his party.
“The president has to keep in mind the political base that propelled him to the Republican nomination three consecutive times,” Godfrey said.
“That base remains skeptical of foreign engagement and foreign entanglements because ending the era of ‘forever wars’ was an explicit campaign promise.”
Iran and the United States resumed indirect nuclear negotiations earlier this month in Muscat, Oman, followed by another round of talks in Geneva on Tuesday under Omani mediation.
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The renewed diplomacy comes amid heightened regional tensions, driven by a significant US military buildup in the Persian Gulf and Iranian military drills.
Speaking Thursday at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington, Trump warned that the United States would opt for military action against Iran “within 10 to 15 days” if negotiations fail.
Trump said earlier Friday that he was “considering” a limited military strike to pressure Iran into a deal, without providing further details.
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