President Donald Trump is meeting Monday with his top national security officials for a closed-door discussion on potential next steps in the U.S. war against Iran, three U.S. officials revealed that same afternoon, with two officials divulging details on what option Trump was “leaning toward.”
The United States and Iran have been in a ceasefire since early April, albeit one the president called "unbelievably weak” on Monday as the two nations continue to exchange attacks on one another. Last week, the Trump administration sent Tehran a draft proposal for ending the conflict – a proposal that wasn’t responded to until Sunday, where it was immediately rejected by Trump, who admittedly hadn’t read it in full.
And on Monday, Trump is expected to meet with his top officials to discuss the path forward, and whether the United States should resume its military bombardment of Iran, the three officials told Axios on the condition of anonymity.
Officials attending the meeting include “Vice President Vance, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Rubio, Secretary of Defense Hegseth, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, CIA director John Ratcliffe and other senior officials,” Axios reported.
As to what direction Trump was leaning towards, two officials told Axios – also under the condition of anonymity – that the president was favoring resuming hostilities.
“Two U.S. officials said Trump is leaning toward taking some form of military action against Iran to increase pressure on the regime and force concessions on its nuclear program,” Axios’ report reads.
One of the two officials told Axios, regarding what Trump would like to do to Iran: “He will tune them up a bit.”
Trump’s reported preference for resuming hostilities is consistent with claims issued by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, who in a televised interview that aired on Sunday, said that the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran was “not yet over,” and that “military forces may need to continue the battle on the ground.” Israel has previously ruled out committing its own troops to a potential U.S.-led ground operation inside Iran, per reporting from the Israeli news outlet JFeed.
