President Donald Trump has been briefed by “several senior administration officials” that Iran is “keenly aware” of the leverage it holds over the president as the conflict drags on, Zeteo reported on Friday.
Trump has claimed that his administration holds “all the cards” as peace talks between Washington and Tehran continue to stall, that Iran’s government was in a “state of collapse,” and that he was in no rush to reach a peace deal. However, according to two administration officials and two other inside sources, classified intelligence assessments that Trump has been briefed on suggest the opposite.
“In recent weeks, US officials have privately discussed classified intelligence assessments suggesting that the government in Tehran isn’t close to breaking, even after two months of war and a sustained economic assault, two administration officials and two other sources briefed on the matter tell us,” according to Zeteo.
“Administration officials, citing US intel, have also warned that senior Iranian officials are keenly aware that if the war drags on much longer, it could further damage Trump and the Republican Party’s chances at the polls in November.”
One senior administration official, speaking with Zeteo on the condition of anonymity, compared the leverage Iran had over Trump with the leverage Iran had over former President Jimmy Carter, whose presidency was tanked in large part due to the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.
The Iran hostage crisis coincided with the 1979 Iranian revolution, when Iranians overthrew U.S.-backed leader Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whose rule had been reinforced by a 1953 U.S.-backed coup following Iran’s move to nationalize its oil industry and challenge Western oil interests.
Carter authorized a rescue operation that ultimately failed and resulted in the deaths of eight American service members and one Iranian civilian, an incident many historians have cited in his landslide loss against former President Ronald Reagan in 1980.
“They know they can Carter him,” the senior administration official told Zeteo.
Two other sources told Zeteo that “several senior administration officials” have tried to “nudge” Trump into “pulling the plug on the war,” the outlet reported.
“This thing needs to end,” a White House official told Zeteo, who argued that Trump “needs to understand” that Iran “has its own cards” — chief among them being the 2026 midterm elections.