WASHINGTON, May 23. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump is leaning toward further strikes against Iran due to frustration with the progress of negotiations, Axios reported, citing sources.
The American leader held a meeting on Friday morning with the participation of Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and other members of the administration, during which he was "briefed on the status of the negotiations and the different scenarios if talks collapse," according to sources. A source close to Trump, and a second source with knowledge of the situation told Axios that Trump had grown "increasingly frustrated about the negotiations with Iran" over the past several days. He told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call on Tuesday that he wanted "to give diplomacy another chance," but "by Thursday night he was leaning toward ordering a strike," sources said.
"A source close to Trump said the president has raised the possibility of a final ‘decisive’ major military operation, after which he could declare victory and end the war," Axios wrote. Trump "is seriously considering launching new strikes against Iran barring a last-minute breakthrough in negotiations," sources said.
