The administration of US President Donald Trump has considered the possibility of resuming large-scale military operations against Iran, but has decided to continue diplomatic talks for now.
This was reported by "The Wall Street Journal", citing high-ranking sources in the administration.
According to the publication, Donald Trump discussed possible scenarios for new military operations against Iran during meetings with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The meetings also considered the option of Washington abandoning nuclear negotiations and launching large-scale strikes on Iran's military and nuclear facilities.
Trump believes that such a decision could completely derail the ongoing nuclear negotiations and weaken efforts to limit Iran's nuclear program, which is considered the main goal of the United States. For this reason, the White House prefers to keep diplomatic channels open.
According to the information, the US President also does not object to extending the August 18 deadline for negotiations on the nuclear agreement and considers it possible to give the parties additional time to reach an agreement.
"The Wall Street Journal" notes that at the current stage, the White House's strategy is to respond to Iran's possible ceasefire violations only with limited and precisely targeted military strikes. The US administration believes that a large-scale war would further escalate the situation in the region.
It should be noted that tensions between Washington and Tehran have recently increased again. Donald Trump previously stated that if Iran continues to violate the ceasefire agreement, the US may be forced to resolve the issue militarily.