President Donald Trump has privately told senior advisers in recent days that he could hold off on launching new attacks against Iran, provided that Tehran and the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen offer no fresh provocations, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The president has swung repeatedly between threatening to escalate the conflict with further strikes and signalling a willingness to wind hostilities down. Current and former officials say he does not appear to have settled on how to resolve the war, which he launched alongside Israel in February and which has proven unpopular at home.
The people said Trump raised the possibility of pausing strikes during meetings with his national security team and following a round of intelligence briefings. Those interviewed for the report spoke on condition of anonymity. He has also shown sympathy for regional allies who have asked him not to return to full-fledged war.
"I could end it immediately, but at the request of the nations that I am looking to protect, we are doing it a little bit longer way, a bit more civilly," Trump told sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith on Thursday. His private comments echo public remarks in which he has played down the chances of major warfare resuming.
In phone calls over the past two weeks, Trump sought the views of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, both of whom urged him not to renew attacks on Iran, according to a senior US official and another person familiar with the matter. They said Trump made no commitment either way.
Trump told the crown prince on 31 October that he planned to attack after the US elections, but bin Salman pleaded with him to hold off, arguing that economic sanctions against Iran were working, according to two people familiar with that discussion. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump has spoken with Erdogan three times since 28 October, according to Turkey's presidency. An official readout of the 7 November call stressed that tensions between Iran and the United States need to end.
Even as diplomacy continues, the US military remains prepared to escalate if ordered, three additional people familiar with American planning said. A third aircraft carrier is due to move into the Middle East in the coming days to replace one of the two currently deployed there, though all three could remain in the region if required.
One option under consideration would be bombing Iran's underground nuclear facilities, according to a person familiar with Trump's calls with the Saudi and Turkish leaders. However, the US has already struck those sites, and it remains unclear whether further strikes would succeed.
Israeli officials have continued lobbying the administration to mount another military campaign, a US official said. Trump signalled this week that Washington has already achieved what it could through negotiations, without saying whether strikes would resume. The original reporting was by Reuters.
