President Trump met with his national security team at the White House on Wednesday and Thursday to decide whether to resume major military operations against Iran, senior officials confirmed to Fox News.
Asked in the Oval Office on Thursday whether the United States would go further to make sure Iran’s nuclear program never comes back, Trump said Washington would “make a decision.” He added: “I would rather not destroy the rest of the country if possible, but maybe I’ll have to. You’ll know soon enough.”
The comments came a day after Trump said he would have started the war again despite Republican losses in Tuesday’s midterms, as this site reported Thursday.
What the military is preparing
U.S. Central Command is finalizing preparations for a possible resumption of major operations but has not received a new order from Washington, Fox News reported, citing Axios. Officials noted that Nov. 9 brings a new moon, which they said makes conditions favorable for military action.
The USS Roosevelt carrier group will not reach the region until at least mid-November and has a port call in Singapore on Friday, Fox reported. Central Command posted photos on X of Air Force F-35A stealth fighters taking on fuel from a KC-135 tanker “while patrolling the skies over the Middle East” and said the blockade of Iranian ports continues.
Trump described the American military presence as “virtually an occupation” and said the U.S. now controls “everything that we’ve wanted to control,” according to Fox. Asked about mediators’ proposals on Iran’s nuclear program, he said: “They’re not doing anything without our approval.”
Tehran’s moves
Iran sent a formal nuclear proposal to the United States through Qatari intermediaries on Thursday, Fox reported. Tehran made any further talks conditional on Washington first meeting its seven demands, an official told Reuters.
The same day, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said two tankers and a tugboat caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, and that at least one blaze started when a tanker struck an Iranian undersea mine. The British military’s maritime agency, UKMTO, has logged five attacks on ships in the region since Sunday. On Tuesday, the Guards’ navy said three other tankers hit mines after entering what it called “unauthorised shipping lanes,” Reuters reported.
In Moscow, Vladimir Putin met Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, who carried a message from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Reuters reported. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi told Trump by phone that Iraqi territory must not be used for strikes on its neighbors.
Oil markets reacted. Brent crude settled up $3.67, or 3.88%, at $98.29 a barrel Thursday, and U.S. crude closed at $90.52, a day after both fell more than 8% to their lowest levels since August.
The bottom line
Iran had a pause in the fighting and used it to send Washington a list of demands while its mines set ships on fire in the world’s most important oil lane. A government that wanted a deal would have reopened the strait first and negotiated second. Tehran did the opposite and asked the United States to pay for the privilege of talking.
The President is right to keep his options open and his timetable to himself. Announcing a date or ruling out strikes would only tell the Revolutionary Guards how long they have to rearm. The blockade, the carrier movements and the planning at Central Command are what give any Qatari channel a chance of producing something real.
The midterm results do not change Iran’s nuclear ambitions or its attacks on shipping. Any agreement should require Iran to clear its mines, reopen Hormuz and give up enrichment before a single one of its seven demands is discussed.