WSJ: Trump seeks to avoid new bombing campaign against Iran

US President Donald Trump wants to avoid a new bombing campaign, preferring to resolve the issue of Tehran’s nuclear programme and a multi-week war, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports.

Sources cited by the outlet said the US president has recently been torn between a desire to strongly punish Iran for refusing to abandon its nuclear activities and an effort to prevent a major escalation that could draw the United States into a wider conflict.

“Now, Trump has little choice but to make a decision between ordering a fresh round of airstrikes against Iran or brushing off Tehran’s provocations and charging ahead with his diplomatic initiative,” the WSJ added.

According to the officials, Trump didn’t want to be back in the position of striking Iran again, even as he has grown deeply dissatisfied with Tehran’s unwillingness to budge on the nuclear issue during talks.

In recent discussions with advisers, Trump voiced frustration that the US pressure campaign in the Strait of Hormuz, though damaging to Iran’s economy, had failed to compel Tehran to accept his nuclear terms.

Officials also said he weighed a range of military options, including strikes on the remaining 25% of Iranian targets on the Pentagon’s list and the possible deployment of naval escorts for commercial tankers passing through the strategic waterway.

By Jeyhun Aghazada