WASHINGTON, SEP 18: US President Donald Trump is weighing whether to resume large-scale military attacks on Iran as he approaches what he described as a major decision over the next phase of the war, Axios reported on Thursday.
“I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It’s a big decision. Anything could happen with me,” Trump told Axios in an interview.
His comments come ahead of a planned meeting on Tuesday with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Trump told Axios that he intends to use the meeting to hear directly from Gulf leaders about how they view the conflict and what should come next.
“I want to find out where they are and how they are doing. We have been very protective of them,” he said.
According to Axios, the talks could help shape whether Washington makes another push for diplomacy or moves toward a renewed military escalation. Any return to major combat operations would also require coordination with key US partners in the region.
Trump declined to tell Axios whether he expects to make a decision before or after the US midterm elections.
Several US officials believe the current situation, which Axios described as an increasingly difficult military and diplomatic holding pattern, cannot continue indefinitely. Some officials have raised the possibility that Trump could return to major combat operations after the midterms if no agreement with Iran is reached.
Trump decided against resuming major attacks in early August after Saudi Arabia and Qatar raised concerns that Iran could retaliate against Saudi oil and gas infrastructure, Axios previously reported.
Since then, the Trump administration has suspended negotiations with Tehran, imposed additional economic sanctions and maintained a naval blockade on Iranian ports, while the US military has focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and increasing the flow of oil through the strategic waterway.
Tanker traffic through the strait has increased significantly, according to Axios, but remains below levels seen before the war, while oil prices continue to remain elevated.
Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have also ordered the US military to maintain its current force posture in the Middle East through the end of the year, US officials told Axios, keeping forces prepared for a possible return to full-scale combat.
One US official told the outlet that Washington would eventually have to determine its ultimate objective in the conflict because the military could not remain in its current posture indefinitely.
Trump also told Axios that he was pleased with the effectiveness of the US naval blockade against Iran and said Tehran remained in direct contact with Washington and continued to seek a deal.
Separately, the White House is developing a strategy for the period after the war that would seek to contain Iran while expanding normalization between Israel and other countries in the region, according to Axios.
The plan remains in its early stages and is intended to guide US Middle East policy after the conflict ends and through the remaining two years of Trump’s term.
Asked whether he would meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while in New York next week, Trump told Axios: “I may.”
