Trump weighs military, negotiating and blockade options to end Iran war
Seven Lights
President Trump, conceding that the war with Iran cost his party the midterm elections, is weighing three paths to end it: a renewed strike, a negotiated settlement, or a prolonged economic strangulation, Axios reported Friday.
The first option, a fresh military attack, carries the heaviest political risk after a year of polling showing opposition to the war and its effect on fuel prices. The second, a deal, risks Tehran reading American weakness after Tuesday’s results and raising its demands, according to people briefed on the discussions. The third, which aides call “strangle,” would hold the status quo: a naval blockade and crippling sanctions left to wear the Iranian regime down while Washington tests its appetite for a deal. That path could take months to show progress.
Mr. Trump has said for weeks he intends to end the war one way or another after the election. An adviser told Axios the president “doesn’t want to look like a loser twice,” yet that calculation has left even close aides unsure what he will do next.
Vice President JD Vance, in an unusual public statement Wednesday, blamed the war directly for the Republican defeat. Mr. Trump called that assessment “largely true” while saying he would make the same decision again. Senior Republicans have privately pressed for a swift end to the conflict and for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s dismissal, Semafor reported. Critics inside the administration credit Mr. Hegseth with pushing the intervention, and his position is considered uncertain as the Senate weighs the incoming class.
The president also signaled a broader shake-up. Asked on CBS’s “60 Minutes” whether he would fire cabinet members after Tuesday’s results, Mr. Trump said he expected to, without naming them.
The blockade and pressure campaign may run longer as the administration deliberates. There is no tidy way for Mr. Trump to finish the job in Iran, and the choice of path will shape oil markets and the confirmation fights ahead.