President Donald Trump reportedly wants options from his inner circle for a quick, decisive strike on Iran to make good on his promise "help is on the way" for slaughtered protesters.
But he does not want one that will risk a long-term conflict in the Middle East.
Analysts and some Trump advisers reportedly told The Wall Street Journal such options might not exist, heeding Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's warning that any strike would set off a protracted regional conflict with the U.S. and Israel as primary targets.
"The Americans should know if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war," Khamenei said Sunday.
Asked about the Iranian leader's warning, Trump told reporters Sunday before entering a Mar-a-Lago wedding ceremony of Dan Scavino and Erin Elmore, "Of course, he is going to say that."
"Hopefully, we'll make a deal," he added. "If we don't make a deal, then we'll find out whether or not he was right."
Trump has heralded the quick-strike Venezuelan operation to extract deposed President Nicolas Maduro and has since pressed Iran and Cuba with two separate "armada" deployments using what special missions envoy Ric Grenell has long called "muscular diplomacy."
Middle Eastern powers are pushing to arrange urgent talks between senior U.S. and Iranian officials in Turkey this week amid rising concerns that American military action against Iran could destabilize the region, according to the Journal.
Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt are working to broker a meeting that could include Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, as both sides signal a willingness to negotiate even while remaining divided over Iran's nuclear enrichment, ballistic missile program, and support for regional militias.
Trump, meanwhile, has warned of possible strikes if diplomacy fails, telling reporters Sunday, "We have the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there."
The flurry of diplomacy reflects widespread regional anxiety about the consequences of a U.S. strike. Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group warned to the Journal that an attack could unleash "chaos — refugees, militancy, instability — faster than anyone could contain it."
Iran, for its part, has insisted negotiations focus only on its nuclear program and has sought guarantees it will not be attacked during talks.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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