WSJ learns of Trump's readiness to end the war with Iran without a nuclear deal
Trump is ready to present as a victory over Iran the latter's complete unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz, giving up on a nuclear deal in order to end the war, WSJ writes.
Trump had called the termination of Iran's nuclear program the goal of the operation
U.S. President Donald Trump has privately told his senior aides that he is ready to put an end to the war with Iran even without concluding a nuclear deal, and to present the complete opening of the Strait of Hormuz as a victory.
This was reported by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing American officials.
According to them, Trump told aides that Tehran is unlikely to restore its nuclear program during his presidency, since the United States destroyed three key facilities last year. If the nuclear program can be contained and shipping through the strait resumes, Trump is more likely to extend the truce indefinitely, and in the event of the strait's complete opening he would lift the naval blockade of Iranian ports, the WSJ's sources added.
A White House representative told the newspaper that the United States has accomplished all of its military objectives against Iran, and that Trump is now focused on ensuring the free passage of energy resources through the Strait of Hormuz, while retaining military options in case of new attacks on vessels.
Tehran, which closed the strait when the war began in February, demands that American warships not be allowed into the waters and that a fee be charged to commercial vessels.
Washington rejects these conditions, American officials reported. According to them, Trump intends to wait out the diplomatic deadlock as long as gasoline prices in the United States remain at their current level — $4.02 per gallon on August 8, which is higher than last year's $3.16 per gallon but lower than a week earlier, WSJ writes.
Gregory Brew, an Iran expert at the consulting firm Eurasia Group, noted that "the Iranians are fully confident that Trump wants a way out and is focused on opening the strait, so they are playing hardball."
On August 8, a representative of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), General Hossein Mohabbi, stated that the opening of the Strait of Hormuz "directly depends" on the United States accepting Iran's conditions and is not connected to the republic's negotiations with Oman.
According to Reuters, a deal between Iran and Oman on the Strait of Hormuz would give Tehran control over vessels entering the Persian Gulf through the sea route. The agency called this one of the largest concessions to the Iranians.
At the same time, the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohammad Bagher Zolqadr, put forward six conditions to the United States for the opening of the sea route on Iran's part. Among them: renouncing any threats against Iran and insults to "Iranian holy sites"; a final end to the war against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq; lifting the naval blockade and withdrawing naval and air forces; full compensation for the damage inflicted on the republic; the lifting of all sanctions; the unblocking of frozen Iranian assets.
However, as The New York Times wrote, the Trump administration is unlikely to accept the Iranian demands. Under the June truce, sanctions will be lifted only with a final agreement on the nuclear program, and Iran will gain access to its assets only after committing to give up highly enriched uranium, the newspaper explained. In addition, the newspaper emphasized that U.S. strikes on Iran's three key nuclear facilities — in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan — in 2025 and 2026 only slowed Tehran's nuclear program but did not stop it.
Trump declared the termination of Iran's nuclear program to be one of the main goals of the military operation, which began at the end of February. The American leader has repeatedly stated that Iran must not have nuclear weapons. "No nuclear weapons. It's very simple. Iran cannot possess nuclear weapons," he emphasized in the spring.
