Donald Trump’s war with Iran is grinding toward stalemate, and now his top advisers are turning on each other.
The conflict has entered a Cold War phase, with Trump’s naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz choking off diplomacy entirely, according to Axios.
Trump is now torn between resuming all-out war against Tehran or waiting to see if his financial squeeze on Iran’s oil supply forces the regime back to the negotiating table.
‘All [Iran’s leaders] understand is bombs,’ Trump told one adviser. ‘I would describe him as frustrated but realistic,’ the adviser added. ‘He doesn’t want to use force. But he’s not backing down.’
Gas prices remain high after months of conflict as Americans prepare to go to the voting booths for the upcoming Midterm elections.
A source close to the President told Axios that ‘a frozen conflict is the worst thing for Trump politically and economically.’
JD Vance, meanwhile, has begun raising questions over Pete Hegseth’s handling of the war by voicing concern with Trump that US stockpiles for missile systems are low, according to the Atlantic.
Two senior administration officials told the outlet that the Vice President has been raising skepticism to Trump about the Pentagon’s information about the war.
Trump’s war with Iran is grinding toward stalemate, and now his top advisers are turning on each other
‘I would describe him as frustrated but realistic,’ a Trump adviser claimed. ‘He doesn’t want to use force. But he’s not backing down’
JD Vance has begun raising questions over Pete Hegseth’s handling of the war by voicing concern with Trump that US stockpiles for missiles systems are low
Vance ‘asks a lot of probing questions about our strategic planning,’ a White House official told the magazine.
Despite Hegseth’s claim that Iran’s military has been obliterated, CBS News reports that US intelligence has found roughly half of the country’s ballistic missile stockpiles and launch systems remain operational since the ceasefire began three weeks ago.
Iran has also retained around 60 percent of its original naval forces, primarily the small speedboats it uses to seize oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
Approximately two-thirds of Iran’s air force also remains usable against US forces, per the report.
Crucial munitions supply that would be essential in fighting potential conflicts with Russia or China have been depleted by more than half.
Hegseth was one of the few of Trump’s cabinet officials to privately urge him to overthrow the regime in March, while Vance remained a skeptic.
Trump held a meeting with his national security team Monday to discuss the latest proposal from Iran to open the strait if the US lifts its naval warship blockade of Iranian ports.
A source told Axios that Trump did not appeared include to accept the latest proposal because it would involve postponing talks regarding the regime’s nuclear program.
Trump’s core demand is that Iran freeze its nuclear program for at least 20 years and surrender its entire stockpile of enriched uranium.
Iran, however, wants control over the Strait of Hormuz and the removal of all US sanctions crippling its economy.
The divide between the two sides makes a deal extremely difficult to reach.
