Donald Trump is considering renewed strikes on Iran after intense Republican blowback helped sway him away from attacking before the midterms, The Atlantic reported Thursday.
“Trump is desperate to find some options to take him out of this problematic situation,” Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli intelligence officer specializing in Iran, told the outlet.
“But you cannot plan for a three-day war, because it is not a unilateral decision. You cannot control how Iran responds,” he added.
The Atlantic's Nancy A. Youssef and Jonathan Lemire reported that Trump is considering “several days of strikes, likely just after the midterm elections.” Potential targets for the new escalation, which the journalists framed as Trump’s “gamble to end the Iran war,” include nuclear facilities, energy infrastructure and missile and drone stockpiles.
An outside adviser told the magazine that economic pressure was bringing Iran “close to the edge” and that new attacks “would push them over.”
But the magazine warned that Trump has previously misjudged Iran’s vulnerability. Another assault could trigger regional escalation without forcing Tehran to surrender.
“Something one way or another, it will happen fairly soon,” Trump told a reporter Wednesday as he boarded Air Force One.
The Atlantic reported that behind-the-scenes Republican backlash over a potential pre-election attack was “so intense” that Trump publicly ruled it out. But plans for an attack on Iran after the election remain up in the air.
“U.S. officials stress that no decision has been made about whether to resume strikes post-election,” according to the magazine, which added, “Although there have been very public signs of preparation.”