President Trump reportedly tells aides he wants to end the war with Iran in the coming weeks, even as thousands of troops are slated to arrive in the region for a possible invasion of Kharg Island.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
President Donald Trump is hoping to avoid an extended conflict with Iran, and has reportedly told his aides that he wants to end the conflict within the next few weeks.
With the war now in its 27th day, multiple sources with knowledge of Trump’s discussions with his inner circle told The Wall Street Journal that the president has reiterated his desire to stick to the original timeline he publicly outlined of four to six weeks for the war with Iran.
According to a report published by the Journal on Wednesday night, the administration hopes that the war will be over by the time Trump flies to Beijing for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the middle of May.
However, US officials say there is no clear path yet to ending the conflict in the Middle East.
Peace contacts are still in an early stage, and Trump has few easy options for ending the war.
Sources close to the president say that at times he has turned his attention to other priorities, including the coming midterm elections, immigration enforcement at airports, and legislation aimed at tightening voter-eligibility rules.
Trump told one associate that the war was pulling focus from the rest of his agenda, according to a person familiar with the conversation.
As the war nears the one-month mark, Trump has reportedly told his advisers that he believes the conflict is entering its final stage and has pressed them to develop strategies for ending the war in the next few weeks.
The president has repeatedly said that he is interested in reaching a diplomatic settlement with Iran, after abandoning his 48-hour ultimatum on Iran’s partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
In the meantime, the US appears to be intensifying military pressure on Iran, with additional troops en route to the Middle East, including soldiers from the US Marine Corps who may be included in an operation to capture Iran’s Kharg Island near the Strait of Hormuz.
On Wednesday, US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper said that hours earlier the number of targets struck in Iran by the US military had topped 10,000, noting that Iran’s military production capacity has been reduced by two-thirds.