US President Donald Trump has been struggling with two competing impulses over the last several days, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday: to punish Iran for continuing to pursue nuclear capabilities, and to avoid having the US drawn further into conflict through escalation<\/p>\n
According to US officials, Trump prefers to negotiate with Iran in order to end its nuclear ambitions, rather than begin a new round of bombing. However, Iran’s recent attack<\/a> against US ships crossing through the Strait of Hormuz is forcing Trump to either ignore the provocation or order more bombing against Iran.<\/p>\n US officials told the WSJ that Trump was considering various military actions, including striking Iranian sites on the Pentagon’s target list, and providing tankers going through the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> with naval escorts.<\/p>\n Some, including US and foreign officials, said that Trump was likely to authorize a military response against Iran within the next few days.<\/p>\n \u201cThe advice he took at the beginning of the war – that bombing Iran would lead to quick and easy victory – has proven false,” said Vali Nasr, a former US official and Iran expert now at Johns Hopkins University. “I suspect he is now skeptical that the US should keep bombing.”<\/p>\n White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said that Trump “has all the cards,” and is keeping his options open. “Negotiators continue to work to ensure Iran can never possess a nuclear<\/a> weapon,” she added.<\/p>\n