U.S. forces carried out new defensive strikes on Iran on Wednesday after President Donald Trump asserted that Iran is “negotiating on fumes” and insisted that November’s midterm elections in the United States won’t make him rush into a deal to end the nearly three-month-old conflict.
U.S. Central Command forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The U.S. military also struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone, the officials said.
Details about the strikes emerged after Trump, at a Cabinet meeting earlier Wednesday, expressed confidence that his administration was making headway on settling the war, even though the talks still remain very much in flux.
The president is looking for a settlement that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and provide him with a credible argument that Iran’s nuclear capability has been diminished enough to declare victory, winding down a conflict that's been politically unpopular for Republicans.
But as things stand, Trump also risks finding that closure to his war of choice comes with an unsatisfactory ending.
The emerging deal puts off many critical issues to be resolved later and has already exposed the Republican president to fierce criticism — even from some of his own supporters — that Iran's hardline leaders will emerge from the conflict battered but emboldened.
It all comes to a head just as the midterm elections to determine control of Congress come into focus and as Republicans worry that rising costs and fuel prices are darkening the American electorate's mood.
But Trump on Wednesday dismissed the idea that the upcoming elections would shape his Iran strategy.
“They thought they were gonna outwait me. You know, 'We’ll outwait him. He’s got the midterms,'” Trump said. “I don’t care about the midterms.”
Trump acknowledged there's still work to do, but he spoke with a measure of certainty that the two sides would get there.
“They want very much to make a deal,” Trump said. “So far, they haven’t gotten there. We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be — either that or we’ll have to just finish the job.”
The new strikes came after U.S. forces carried out what the Pentagon called “defensive” strikes on missile launch sites and minelaying boats in southern Iran on Monday. The U.S. has said it has acted with restraint with both of this week's military actions in light of the fragile, weekslong ceasefire that continues to hold.
Some Trump backers are skeptical
While Trump insists a deal is within reach, there appears to be daylight between the U.S. and Iran on several key issues. The president is also facing scrutiny from Republican allies, including Sens. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Ted Cruz of Texas, who have said the terms seem too favorable to Tehran.
They're balking at aspects of the deal that have emerged publicly that they say too closely resemble the nuclear agreement reached with Iran by Democratic President Barack Obama, which Trump scrapped during his first term.
Under the potential deal, Tehran would agree to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium — a key Trump demand — in return for sanctions relief. That's according to two regional officials and one senior Trump administration official, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.
One regional official, with direct knowledge of the negotiations, said how Iran would give up the uranium would be subject to further talks during a 60-day period. Some would likely be diluted, while the rest would be transferred to a third country, the official said.
But Trump said Wednesday that he “wouldn’t be comfortable” with either Russia or China taking Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The two countries have the closest relations with Tehran, and nuclear analysts have said they could be a potential acceptable third party to the Iranian Republic to take possession of the enriched uranium as part of a potential deal.
Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran has not publicly committed to giving up its uranium.
How Trump's plan affects Israel's war in Lebanon
Another key issue unresolved is whether the ceasefire will also cover Israel’s operations against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon. Iran has insisted that Lebanon must be covered by any ceasefire agreement negotiated with the United States.
The administration appears to leave some wiggle room on the Lebanon question. The emerging memorandum of understanding calls for a ceasefire between the U.S. and its allies against Iran and its proxies, such as Hezbollah, but also underscores Israel's right to act against imminent threats and in self-defense.
Israel's military and Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group continue to clash along a strategic river in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops pushed farther north.
Jonathan Conricus, a former spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, said Israel expects that Iran would quickly move to direct any sanctions relief to restore its military capability and boost proxy groups, including Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza.
“We’re not done fighting, because the Iranian regime isn’t done,” said Conricus, who is a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank.
‘Stunned silence’ as Trump ties Abraham Accords to Iran deal
Trump on Wednesday also reinforced his call that the deal should include a requirement for several additional countries, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan, to join the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered agreements from Trump’s first term aimed at normalizing diplomatic and economic relations with Israel.
“We’re, you know, requesting strongly that they join,” Trump said.
Trump’s optimism that the other Middle Eastern and majority-Muslim countries could soon sign on to the accords might be overly ambitious.
For example, Saudi Arabia, the most significant power in the Arab world and long seen as the biggest prize for the normalization effort, has insisted that establishing a guaranteed path to a Palestinian state remains a precondition. It's something that Israel vehemently opposes.
Trump pushed for the Abraham Accords during a call with leaders of Mideast allies over the weekend.
Barbara Leaf, a retired U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and senior State Department official during President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration, said officials from Gulf countries who were on the call told her that Trump’s pitch was greeted by “stunned silence.”
A person familiar with the call disputed that characterization and said that some regional allies responded positively to the president’s call to join the accords. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity about the private conversation.
