WASHINGTON, May 23 — The Trump administration is preparing for a fresh round of military strikes against Iran despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, U.S. media reported Friday, citing sources with direct knowledge of the planning.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday met with top U.S. national security officials over a path forward on the war with Iran, but the meeting ended without a decision on what will happen next, a source familiar with the meeting told CNN.
Trump is seriously considering launching new strikes against Iran, barring a last-minute breakthrough in negotiations, Axios reported on Friday, citing sources who have spoken directly with the president.
A source close to Trump said he has raised the possibility of a final “decisive” major military operation, after which he could declare victory and end the war, but there is no indication he has made a final decision, said the Axios report.
A U.S. official briefed on the diplomatic efforts described the negotiations as “agonizing” as drafts are “going back and forth every day” without much progress, it said.
Later on Friday, Trump canceled plans to spend the weekend at his New Jersey golf resort and said he would skip his son’s wedding in the Bahamas, choosing instead to stay in Washington due to what he described as “circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America.”
“I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
Also on Friday, Al Arabiya said on social media that the final draft of a possible agreement between the United States and Iran, mediated by Pakistan, is expected to be announced within hours.
Key terms of the draft include an immediate, comprehensive, unconditional ceasefire on all fronts, mutual commitment not to target military, civilian or economic infrastructure, and an end to military operations and media war, it said, citing sources.
Qatari and Pakistani delegations reportedly visited Tehran on Friday in an attempt to help end the U.S. war with Iran. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
