WASHINGTON—Days before going to war with Iran in February, President Trump summoned his intelligence chief to the Oval Office to ask whether a full-on assault was a good idea.
Top military leaders told the president that a war would lead to casualties, concerns about the weapons stockpile and readiness problems for an overstretched force, The Wall Street Journal reported . Then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard outlined assessments from America’s intelligence apparatus. Tehran would rush to close the Strait of Hormuz, destabilizing the global energy market. And it would strike U.S. forces and partners in the Middle East, prompting questions about American resolve and reliability with allies. The notes of caution echoed warnings Trump was receiving from all corners.
She told Trump that killing Iran’s supreme leader would likely usher in a more hard-line regime open to acquiring nuclear weapons, according to people familiar with the meeting.
“You can draw a straight line from the fact that the war was launched without any clear political objective to the mishandled diplomacy in trying to end it. Trump ordered an attack that began on Feb. Nearly six months later, a conflict the president promised would be over within six weeks is continuing without a clear end in sight. Some former White House and former national security officials say there is no easy way for Trump to get what he wants: a deal that caps Iran’s nuclear work indefinitely and marks him as a historic wartime president. Not everyone agreed on the case for war. Getting a deal was a risk but less costly than a war with unwieldy consequences. Plus, Iran’s economy was collapsing under heavy U.S. sanctions. By mid-April, Trump was still torn about the best path forward. A friend who visited Trump urged the president to end the war.
28 and urged Iranians to overthrow their government.
“This was all predictable and predicted,” said Eric Brewer, a deputy vice president at the Nuclear Threat Initiative who worked in Democratic and Republican administrations. Vice President JD Vance promoted a more cautious approach , officials said. Iran might dissolve its nuclear program in negotiations, he told the president. Trump asked whether he should “bomb the s—” out of Iran, a person familiar with the conversation said. The friend said no, warning that it would only suck the U.S. deeper into a widening Middle East conflict.
