At the same time the U.S. has entered negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, President Trump acknowledged he’s considering limited military strikes against the regime, and inside the Trump administration, there are factions weighing in with the president on each option.
A Trump ally, who requested anonymity to talk about private discussions, described the internal deliberations inside the administration as “less of a debate” or ideological standoff on foreign policy and more of a “series of updates” for Mr. Trump, who is reacting to each briefing and development and considering his options, with few sure about which direction he might go, since events and information remain fluid.
The ally referred to the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as a “point person” in helping Mr. Trump develop the contours of a potential diplomatic deal, along with top officials, such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, should there be a military strike that takes place in the coming days or weeks.
Top national security officials have told Mr. Trump the military would be ready for potential strikes on Iran as soon as Saturday, though the timeline for any action is likely to extend beyond this weekend. The president has not yet made a final decision about whether to strike, officials said.
Publicly, Rubio has focused on diplomatic efforts and said a few days ago that that’s where the president’s focus was, too.
“Right now, we are talking about negotiations; we are focused on negotiations,” he said in Slovakia on Feb. 15. “The president has made that clear. If that changes, it will be obvious to everyone.”
Rubio has presented both sides of the argument to Mr. Trump, multiple sources familiar with the discussions say, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has laid out U.S. military options and the timeline when the military assets would be ready. All military forces deployed to the region are expected to be in place by mid-March.
In private meetings, Vice President JD Vance has weighed in, too, and said his preference is to not launch military strikes against Iran, according to multiple sources.
A White House official said the vice president “provides a multitude of different angles and scenarios in order for the president to make informed decisions about a wide range of issues.”
And the official said the president “listens to a range of opinions on any given issue, but ultimately decides based on what is best for our country and national security.”
“It’s not clear to me that he’s made up his mind about what his objectives are,” former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, now a Trump critic, said in an interview. “I believe ultimately there will be a use of military force because he has to vindicate the red line he drew back during the protests.”
The U.S. and Iran concluded a round of negotiations on Tuesday in Geneva, with both sides saying progress was made, but there are “still a lot of details to discuss,” a U.S. official said. Iran is expected to present detailed proposals within a couple of weeks “to address some of the open gaps in our positions,” the official also said. No date has been set for follow-up consultations.
Last June, the U.S. joined Israel in strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities during its 12-day war with Iran, causing what intelligence suggested was severe damage to the regime’s nuclear program.
There has been some activity around the nuclear sites recently. Satellite photos from late January showed roofs have been built over two damaged buildings at the Isfahan and Natanz nuclear facilities, the first major activity detected by satellite at any of the country’s stricken nuclear sites since the 12-day war.
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