Unnamed sources who spoke with Trump were cited by the news sites as saying the president was seriously considering renewing the strikes on Iran if there were no last-minute breakthroughs in the talks.<\/p>\n
The president discussed the situation Friday morning in a meeting with top US officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA chief John Ratcliffe and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, the sources said.<\/p>\n
The New York Times<\/a> reported that the meeting appeared to be a review of military options should he resume strikes and noted that possible new targets could include Iran\u2019s energy sector, missile launch sites that have been restored, and an attempt to destroy Iran\u2019s stockpile of highly enriched uranium that remains buried after the site was targeted last year.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition \t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n A source close to Trump told Axios that the president has raised the possibility of a final \u201cdecisive\u201d major military operation, after which he could declare victory and end the war.<\/p>\n Sources close to Trump were cited as saying the president has grown frustrated about the talks over the past few days. Trump told<\/a> Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that the US president wanted to give diplomacy a chance. Still, by Thursday night, Trump was leaning toward launching strikes, the sources said.<\/p>\n Unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the planning were cited by CBS as saying several US military personnel and intelligence officials have canceled their plans for Memorial Day weekend, which started Saturday and will last through Monday.<\/p>\n \t Trump himself said<\/a> Friday that he was skipping his son\u2019s wedding this weekend to stay at the White House because of \u201ccircumstances pertaining to Government.\u201d<\/p>\n Both CBS and Axios said Trump has yet to make the decision on whether to resume the conflict with Iran. A White House spokesperson, Anna Kelly, told CBS that \u201cthe president has been clear about the consequences if Iran fails to make a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel frozen out of talks<\/p>\n Separately, two unnamed Israeli defense officials were cited Saturday by The New York Times<\/a> as saying Israel\u2019s leaders have been kept out of the loop on the US-Iran talks, after Netanyahu\u2019s pre-war pitch<\/a> that the US-Israeli campaign would topple Iran\u2019s regime failed to materialize.<\/p>\n Israel has instead been forced to resort to picking up information on the US-Iran talks from regional leaders and diplomats, and surveillance inside Iran, the officials said. The Israeli officials spoke to the newspaper on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issue.<\/p>\n The report noted that in the run-up to the start of the war against the Iranian regime earlier this year, Netanyahu was in close coordination with Trump and was leading a discussion in the Situation Room in Washington.<\/p>\n \u201cThe banishment from the cockpit to economy class has potentially significant consequences for Israel, and especially for the prime minister, who faces an uphill re-election battle this year,\u201d the newspaper said. The Times headlined its article, \u201cOnce Trump\u2019s Co-Pilot Against Iran, Netanyahu Is Now a Mere Passenger.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Citing US officials familiar with Trump\u2019s thinking, the report said that the US president views Netanyahu as a war ally, but not as a partner when it comes to holding talks with Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cIn fact, he considered Mr. Netanyahu someone who needed to be restrained when it comes to resolving conflicts,\u201d the paper said.<\/p>\n The report also noted that during the war, Trump blamed Israel for acting alone in striking Iranian energy targets, even though the strikes were cleared with Washington ahead of time.<\/p>\n The report quoted Israeli officials as saying that the sidelining of Israel was \u201cparticularly hard to take,\u201d as Israel had been willing to take on the more controversial strikes during the war, including the killing of Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n Crushing and bitter response<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s chief negotiator on Saturday warned of a \u201ccrushing\u201d response if Trump resumed attacks on the country, saying Tehran had rebuilt its armed forces during the six-week-long ceasefire in the Middle East war.<\/p>\n \u201cOur armed forces have rebuilt themselves during the ceasefire period in such a way that if Trump commits another act of folly and restarts the war, it will certainly be more crushing and bitter for the United States than on the first day of the war,\u201d Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted on social media.<\/p>\n \t Ghalibaf issued the warning after meeting in capital Tehran with Pakistan\u2019s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, a leading figure in diplomatic efforts to negotiate a deal to end the war.<\/p>\n Munir met with Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran on Friday night and was also expected to meet\u00a0 with Ahmad Vahidi, head of Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.<\/p>\n Washington\u2019s negotiations with Tehran have faltered over the Islamic Republic\u2019s nuclear program and the post-war control of the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran and the US have imposed competing naval blockades.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tPeople hold roses as they attend a mass wedding ceremony for couples participating in the \u2018Janfada\u2019 (\u2018Sacrifice for Iran\u2019) government campaign in Tehran, Iran, on May 18, 2026. (AP Photo\/Vahid Salemi)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP25363698818058-e1767135968427-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tUS President Donald Trump (right) speaks to reporters as he greets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago club, December 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AFP__20260523__B3TT9GJ__v1__HighRes__IranPakistanUsIsraelWarPoliticsDiplomacy-e1779534695549-640x400.jpeg\")
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\n\t\tIn this handout picture provided by the Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency (ICANA), Iran\u2019s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (R) meets with Pakistan\u2019s Army Chief Syed Asim Munir in Tehran on May 23, 2026 (ICANA NEWS AGENCY \/ AFP)<\/p>\n
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