Trump Weighs Pausing Iran Strikes Absent Fresh Provocations, Sources Say

WASHINGTON/RIYADH: President Donald Trump has told senior advisers in recent days that he may refrain from striking Iran so long as Tehran and its Houthi allies in Yemen do not launch new provocations, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

Trump has shifted between threatening to widen the war through fresh strikes and seeking to de-escalate. Current and former officials say he has yet to settle on how to end a conflict that has grown unpopular at home—one he began in February alongside Israel.

But during meetings with his national security team and following a round of intelligence briefings, Trump indicated he was leaning toward holding off on further strikes, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity along with others interviewed for this account.

He has also voiced sympathy for regional allies urging him to avoid a return to full-scale war.

“I could end it immediately, but at the request of the nations I am looking to protect, we’re taking a somewhat longer and more civil path,” Trump told sports commentator Stephen A. Smith on Thursday.

The war has driven up global fuel prices and proved unpopular with American voters, who handed control of Congress to the Democrats in last week’s midterm elections. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted shortly before the November 3 vote found that 55 percent of Americans considered the war not worth its cost, and Vice President JD Vance pointed to it as a key reason Republicans lost Congress. Trump’s private remarks echo earlier public comments in which he downplayed the prospect of major combat resuming.

“As Commander-in-Chief, President Trump is the architect and sole decision-maker, holding every card and ensuring America’s interests are always protected,” a White House official said in a statement. “The United States is in a very strong position, controlling the Strait of Hormuz while Iran’s economy collapses. Only President Trump knows what he will do, and when.”

The CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to requests for comment.

US intelligence agencies have concluded that the naval blockade and economic sanctions are battering Iran’s economy and will continue to pressure Tehran, according to two US officials briefed on the assessments.

Expanding on a months-long blockade of Iranian sea traffic, the US military is also working to block weapons and other sanctioned goods from entering the country overland or via the Caspian Sea, Reuters reported last week.

MILITARY OPTIONS

At the same time, the military is prepared to escalate if ordered, three additional people familiar with US planning said. A third aircraft carrier is set to arrive in the Middle East in the coming days to relieve one of the two already deployed, though all three could remain if necessary, the people said.

Among the options, Trump could order strikes on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities, according to one of the people familiar with his calls with the Saudi and Turkish leaders. Yet the US has already bombed those sites, and it remains unclear whether further strikes would succeed.

Intelligence agencies have assessed that renewed strikes would not meaningfully change Iran’s negotiating demands, two US officials said.

Trump was also briefed on US munitions stockpiles, some of which have fallen to worrying levels, the two people said. Reuters reported in August that the US had exhausted “virtually all” of its long-range precision munitions, and a person familiar with the matter said they have not been replenished.

“The United States Military has enough munitions and ammunition to meet all of the Commander-in-Chief’s strategic goals and beyond,” the White House official said.

ISRAELI PRESSURE

Israeli officials have kept up their lobbying for another military campaign, according to a US official.

Trump suggested this week that Washington has already extracted what it can from diplomacy, without saying whether he would restart strikes.

“We don’t need a deal with Iran,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Thursday. “We’ve got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we’ve got their Strait!”

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