Trump Reportedly Rejects Iranian Proposal and Plans To Resume Bombing After Election
Alex Brandon/AP photo
President Donald Trump has rejected an Iranian proposal that would have reopened the Strait of Hormuz, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday night. Trump also “expects to resume bombing” after November’s midterm elections, the paper said.
Citing U.S. officials, the Journal reported that Iran’s proposal called for a seven-day ceasefire, a resumption of nuclear talks, and the reopening of the strait, through which 20% of the world’s oil flows. In exchange, Iran wanted the U.S. to halt its blockade in the Gulf of Oman. Trump has repeatedly insisted that Iran wants to make a deal “badly,” but the Journal said that privately he questions whether Iran would fulfill its obligations under any deal.
A deciding factor in Trump’s deliberations is the election, indicating that the president’s decision-making is currently being driven as much by political considerations as military ones.
“Trump’s current position indicates the conflict’s stage—a liminal space between war and peace—is likely to tilt back toward hostilities,” the paper said. “But the president, who has declared victory since the earliest days of the seven-month fight, alternates between pursuing diplomacy, ordering airstrikes and tightening sanctions around Iran. His views today could shift as the war drags over the coming weeks, officials said, and could be affected by the results of the midterms.”
The scale of the potential continued bombing is unclear, but Trump is leery of resuming major combat operations, “partly because the U.S. wants to reserve dwindling munitions for other contingencies.”
During his address at the U.N. General Assembly this week, Trump openly contemplated the destruction of Iran.
“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before — maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East, or even the world?” he said. “Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell, with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness for generations?”
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