US President Donald Trump has held off the option of escalating to full-scale military action against Iran, opting instead to continue diplomatic negotiations for now as talks with Tehran remain ongoing.
According to The Wall Street Journal report, Trump has in recent days spoken with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine about expanding military options, including a possible escalation of strikes, while keeping the diplomatic track open as talks with Tehran continue.
The discussions reportedly centred on whether Washington should abandon negotiations and resume broader attacks on Iran, a move some officials have described as “finishing the job”.
However, Trump has told aides he believes renewed large-scale strikes could undermine diplomacy and reduce the chances of reaching a lasting agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme.
As per the report, the president has also indicated he would be willing to allow negotiations to extend beyond an August 18 deadline, giving diplomatic efforts more time to yield results. At the same time, he is said to be comfortable with limited, one-off strikes in response to Iranian violations of a ceasefire framework agreed last month.
