US President Donald Trump is considering three possible courses of action in the Middle East: escalating military operations, increasing economic pressure on Iran, or declaring victory and withdrawing the United States from the region, The New York Times (NYT) reports.
According to the newspaper, all three options have been discussed in recent weeks during meetings with Vice President JD Vance, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
However, each option appears problematic for different reasons, the report said.
On July 24, Trump announced a pause in the nearly two-week US bombing campaign against Iran, despite previously indicating that he was prepared to resume full-scale military operations in the region.
Sources cited by the NYT said Trump's advisers had become sceptical that a large-scale bombing campaign would succeed in bringing Tehran back to the negotiating table.
They also warned the president that strikes of such magnitude could result in heavy civilian casualties and widespread hunger in Iran, affecting people whom Trump had previously said he wanted to protect from their government.
The newspaper added that Trump's hesitation may also be linked to concerns over dwindling supplies of interceptor missiles.
A second option under consideration is to allow sanctions to take greater effect, with the administration hoping that restrictions on Iranian oil exports will achieve Washington's objectives.
The third scenario being discussed is for Trump to declare victory and disengage from the region.
By Jeyhun Aghazada
