Donald Trump is weighing whether to resume bombing Iran as senior officials within his administration push urgently for a peace agreement with the regime.
The president met with his national security team at the White House on Wednesday and again on Thursday to consider restarting military operations against Iran, according to multiple reports. It was his first war briefing since Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress on Tuesday.
Officials told Trump that a new moon will appear over the Middle East on Monday, creating near-total darkness and the type of cover military commanders often seek for air operations, sources told Fox News.
Hours earlier, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Washington would “make a decision” on whether to resume the war. He also questioned whether the United States should “go further” to ensure Iran’s nuclear program is permanently dismantled.
He said he would prefer not to destroy more of the country if it could be avoided, “but maybe I will have to.”
“You’ll know soon enough,” he added.
At the same time, Tehran has sent the White House a new proposal on its nuclear program through Qatari mediators, leaving Trump to choose between negotiating a deal and destroying what remains of Iran’s facilities.
Iran is also distributing iodine tablets to families living within two miles of its nuclear sites and instructing them on how to survive a blast, The Times reports.
Tehran fears that the next American attack could target Pickaxe Mountain, a nuclear complex near Natanz that is buried as deep as 100 meters beneath granite.
US Central Command has prepared strike plans that could have been launched the day after the election. Thousands of American troops also remain in waters off Iran enforcing the blockade.
Trump met his national security team at the White House on Wednesday and again on Thursday to weigh resuming military operations against Iran
An oil tanker burns after being hit by an Iranian strike in the ship-to-ship transfer zone at Khor al-Zubair port near Basra, Iraq, late Wednesday, March 11
MORE STORY: Veteran LAPD Officer Dies in Huntington Beach Dive Training
Officials told the president that a new moon will appear over the Middle East on Monday, leaving almost no moonlight and providing the type of cover commanders seek for air operations, sources told Fox News.
Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz or return to negotiations until the United States accepts seven conditions, the country’s senior security official, Mohsen Rezaei, said Thursday during a visit to Russia.
The demands include lifting US sanctions, unfreezing Iranian assets and paying reparations for the war.
Trump rejected the seven-point proposal in September, responding by posting a map that renamed the waterway “Trump Strait.” Tehran now says the process has been condensed and could be completed within two days.
Vice President JD Vance is leading the advisers urging Trump to reach an agreement, while CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent support maintaining the naval blockade.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi used a phone call with Trump on Thursday to warn that Iraq could not be used as “a launchpad for aggression against neighboring countries,” according to a statement from his office on X.
Democrats won control of both the House and Senate on Tuesday, flipping seats in Texas, Kansas and other traditionally Republican states as voters reacted to high prices and the war.
“The reason we lost is the war,” Vance wrote on X, adding that Trump had made the same assessment the previous night.
Trump said that was “largely true,” but blamed the defeat on high gas prices rather than the conflict. He also reiterated that “You can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
The average price of gasoline reached $4.15 a gallon on Election Day, the highest recorded for any midterm or presidential election day since at least 2000.
Meanwhile, rising energy costs reduced the average American household’s income by nearly $1,230. The Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly one-quarter of the world’s traded oil and one-fifth of its liquefied natural gas, was effectively sealed.
