WASHINGTON, May 23. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump is leaning toward further strikes against Iran due to frustration with the progress of negotiations, Axios reported, citing sources.
The American leader held a meeting on Friday morning with the participation of Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and other members of the administration, during which he was "briefed on the status of the negotiations and the different scenarios if talks collapse," according to sources. A source close to Trump, and a second source with knowledge of the situation told Axios that Trump had grown "increasingly frustrated about the negotiations with Iran" over the past several days. He told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call on Tuesday that he wanted "to give diplomacy another chance," but "by Thursday night he was leaning toward ordering a strike," sources said.
"A source close to Trump said the president has raised the possibility of a final ‘decisive’ major military operation, after which he could declare victory and end the war," Axios wrote. Trump "is seriously considering launching new strikes against Iran barring a last-minute breakthrough in negotiations," sources said.
The US and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28. On April 7, Trump announced a two-week, mutual ceasefire with the Islamic Republic. According to Tehran, 3,375 Iranians have been killed in US-Israeli strikes during the 40 days of the war. On April 11, Tehran and Washington held talks in Islamabad, but the parties failed to reach an agreement on a long-term settlement to the conflict due to a number of differences. On April 21, the US leader announced his intention to extend the ceasefire with Iran. According to Iranian state television, Tehran does not intend to recognize Washington’s unilateral ceasefire extension and will act in accordance with its own interests.