President Donald Trump has told his national security team that he wants any U.S. military action in Iran to deal a swift and decisive blow to the regime — and not start a long, drawn-out war, according to an intelligence report that cited a U.S. official, two people familiar with the discussions and a person close to the White House.
“If he’s going to do something, he wants it to be final,” a source familiar with the negotiations told NBC.
No decision has been made and Trump’s advisers have been unable to guarantee that the strike will quickly topple Iran’s leadership, a U.S. official and two people familiar with the discussions told NBC News. There are also concerns about whether the U.S. has enough assets in the region to protect itself against what administration officials expect would be an aggressive Iranian response.
Strive for a quick result, not a protracted war
Trump’s guidance to advisers reflects his desire to avoid a conflict “that dragged on for weeks or months,” said a U.S. official and people familiar with the discussions.
Despite adjusting military options to meet those goals, the advisers cannot yet guarantee a quick collapse of the Tehran regime after a US military strike, they said.
One U.S. official said there were concerns, according to the report, that the U.S. may not have all the necessary forces in the region to defend against what many in the administration expect would be a strong Iranian military or asymmetric response.
Trump signals caution — but leaves options open
During remarks to reporters, Trump referred to information he said he had received from “very important sources on the other side” indicating that Iran had stopped killing protesters and that plans for executions had been halted.
Officials close to the discussions said Trump remained ready to make good on his promises to Iranian protesters that the United States would intervene militarily to support their efforts to topple the regime.
Commenting on Trump’s instructions to his aides, a White House official said in a statement: “President Trump has every option available to address the situation in Iran,” and cited recent U.S. military operations as evidence that “he means what he says,” according to the reporter.
