Trump gathers Cabinet as he looks to seal deal to end war

Trump Cabinet – President Donald Trump will meet with his Cabinet Wednesday as talks with Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz and extending a ceasefire move into their next phase. The push comes after U.S. “defensive” strikes on missile sites and mine-laying boats in sou

President Donald Trump is set to bring his Cabinet into the room Wednesday at a moment when the Iran talks he’s betting his presidency on look less like a finish line than a holding pattern.

The pressure is immediate. Days after Trump insisted his administration and Tehran had “largely negotiated” a settlement—while admitting the negotiations were still “in a state of flux”—he is now pressing forward with an effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and to make a case that Iran’s nuclear capability has been diminished enough for him to declare victory.

But there’s also a different. sharper fear working in the background: that the end of this war of choice could arrive with terms that leave critics feeling the outcome is anything but clean. The emerging outline. as it stands. postpones multiple critical issues for later. and it has already drawn fierce criticism. including from some Republicans who say Iran’s leadership could come out of the conflict battered—but emboldened.

That political unease is colliding with the midterm elections now looming, when control of Congress will be decided. Republicans also face a harsher mood among voters as rising costs and fuel prices darken the electorate.

The talks have not proceeded in a vacuum. On Monday, U.S. forces carried out what the Pentagon described as “defensive” strikes on missile launch sites and mine-laying boats in southern Iran. The U.S. said it acted with “restraint” in light of the weekslong ceasefire. Iran, for its part, decried the action as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability.”.

On Tuesday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that negotiations on reopening the strait and extending the ceasefire will take several more days. He gave the public a blunt binary. saying. “He’s either going to make a good deal or no deal.” Trump meanwhile used social media to complain that even if Tehran offered a complete surrender. the media would portray Iran’s end of the conflict as scoring “a Masterful and Brilliant Victory.”.

That confidence is running up against friction inside Trump’s own political orbit. Several Republican allies—including Sens. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. and Ted Cruz of Texas—have said publicly that the terms appearing in the emerging deal seem too favorable to Tehran. Their worry centers on whether the outline resembles the nuclear agreement reached with Iran by former President Barack Obama. which Trump scrapped during his first term.

At the center of the debate is an emerging proposal under which Tehran would agree to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium—an element Trump has demanded—in return for sanctions relief. Two regional officials and one senior Trump administration official. speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations. described the shape of the arrangement.

One regional official, with direct knowledge of the negotiations, said the handover of uranium would be subject to further talks during a 60-day period. The official said some of it would likely be diluted, while the rest would be transferred to a third country.

The uranium itself is specific enough to sharpen the argument. Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity. a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%. according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran has not publicly committed to giving up its uranium.

Trump’s own public posture on that question has shifted in tone even if the goal remains. On Monday. Trump said in a Truth Social post that the uranium—believed to be buried under nuclear sites battered by U.S. air strikes last year—would either be turned over to the U.S. or “destroyed in place or. at another acceptable location. with the Atomic Energy Commission. or its equivalent. being witness to this process and event.” The comment signaled a softening of Trump’s earlier insistence that the U.S. take control of Iran’s uranium stockpile.

The dispute extends beyond nuclear material to the war in Lebanon and the question of what a ceasefire would actually mean in practice. One key unresolved issue is whether the ceasefire would cover Israel’s operations against Hezbollah. the Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon. Iran has insisted that Lebanon must be covered by any ceasefire negotiated with the United States.

In the emerging memorandum of understanding, the administration appears to leave room. The text calls for a ceasefire between the U.S. and its allies against Iran and its proxies, such as Hezbollah, but it also underscores Israel’s right to act against imminent threats and in self defense.

Israel’s response has already moved in parallel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday that the Israeli military is “deepening its operation” in Lebanon.

Jonathan Conricus. a former spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces and a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. said Israel expects that Iran will quickly move to direct any sanctions relief to restore its military capability and boost proxy groups. including Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza. “We’re not done fighting, because the Iranian regime isn’t done,” Conricus said.

Trump’s attempt to link the Iran settlement to broader diplomatic gains is also creating friction. On Monday. Trump said any agreement to end the Iran war should include a requirement for several additional countries—including Saudi Arabia. Qatar and Pakistan—to join the Abraham Accords. the U.S.-brokered agreements from Trump’s first term aimed at normalizing diplomatic and economic relations with Israel.

There is little certainty that those states will accept the sequencing Trump wants. Saudi Arabia has insisted that establishing a guaranteed path to a Palestinian state remains a precondition—something Israel opposes vehemently.

Trump made the Abraham Accords push during a call with leaders of Mideast allies over the weekend. Barbara Leaf, a retired U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and a senior State Department official during the Biden administration. said officials from Gulf countries who were on the call told her Trump’s pitch was greeted by “stunned silence.”.

A person familiar with the call disputed that characterization, saying some regional allies responded positively to Trump’s outreach to join the accords. The person spoke on condition of anonymity about the private conversation.

Leaf said the calculus among Gulf allies is driven by fear of what Iran will do with any sanctions relief. She said allies recognize that Iran will likely use money from sanctions relief to bolster its military capabilities. Even so, Leaf said they are supportive of Trump pursuing an end to the conflict. “They see no other way out,” Leaf said of American allies in the region. “And they see no other way out because of many of these early mistakes that the president and the administration made in conducting the war.”.

For Trump. Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting sits at the intersection of all these competing pressures: a timeline Rubio says will take several more days. a weekslong ceasefire followed by strikes that Iran branded as bad faith. a nuclear outline that critics say revives Obama-era mechanics. and a Lebanon ceasefire question that Israel appears to be answering with further action.

Trump Cabinet Iran ceasefire Strait of Hormuz uranium stockpile enriched uranium Rubio Wicker Graham Cruz Hezbollah Lebanon Abraham Accords sanctions relief midterm elections