Reuters revealed that US President Donald Trump is considering withdrawing from launching new military strikes against Iran, if Tehran and the Houthis in Yemen refrain from carrying out new attacks or provocations, at a time when Israel continues to press for the resumption of military operations, amid US moves to strengthen the military presence in the region.
On Saturday, Reuters reported, citing three people familiar with the discussions, that Trump informed his senior advisors in recent days that he was considering suspending attacks on Iran, after a series of meetings with the national security team and intelligence briefings on developments in the war.
This comes in light of Trump's positions varying between threatening to escalate military operations and threatening to end hostilities, while current and former officials say that he has not yet decided on how to end the war that the United States and Israel started against Iran last February.
According to the sources, the American President showed understanding of the positions of regional allies who asked him to avoid returning to a large-scale war.
“I can end it immediately, but at the request of the countries that I seek to protect, we are taking a slightly longer and more civilized path,” Trump said in an interview with sportscaster Stephen A. Smith on Thursday.
Commenting on these reports, a White House official confirmed that Trump is the final decision-maker regarding military movements, noting that the United States enjoys a strong position in light of its control, he said, over the Strait of Hormuz and the deterioration of the Iranian economy.
The official added that only the president knows what he will do and when he will make his decision.
According to Reuters, during the past two weeks, Trump made phone calls with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which he asked for their opinion regarding the resumption of attacks on Iran.
The agency quoted a senior American official and another person familiar with the talks as saying that the two leaders urged Trump not to resume military strikes, but he did not make any commitment regarding his final decision.
Two people familiar with a call that took place on October 31 revealed that Trump informed the Saudi Crown Prince of his intention to launch new attacks after the midterm elections for the US Congress.
However, Mohammed bin Salman urged him to be patient, considering that the economic sanctions imposed on Iran are achieving results, and that continuing economic pressure may be more effective than returning to military confrontation.
As for the Turkish side, Trump has spoken with Erdogan three times since October 28, according to the Turkish presidency.
In the same context, Reuters quoted US officials who had seen intelligence assessments that the naval blockade and US economic sanctions are causing damage to the Iranian economy, and they are expected to continue to put pressure on Tehran.
Despite indications of a possible calm, the United States continues to prepare for additional military options. Reuters quoted three people familiar with US military planning that a third aircraft carrier is heading to the Middle East in the coming days, to replace one of the two aircraft carriers currently in the region.
In exchange for Saudi and Turkish calls for calm, Israeli officials continue to pressure the Trump administration to engage in a new military campaign against Iran, according to a US official who spoke to Reuters.
On the ground, the naval forces of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Iranian army announced on Saturday that four oil tankers were exposed to explosions and fires after colliding with sea mines while trying to cross areas near the Strait of Hormuz.
In another military development, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced that it shot down a drone it said was an American MQ-1 over Qeshm Island in the south of the country, on Saturday.
The Iranian mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed, in a statement carried by Tasnim Agency on Saturday, that the usual nuclear inspection and safeguards procedures cannot be resumed in light of what it described as “abnormal circumstances” resulting from the attacks that targeted Iranian nuclear facilities.
