President Donald Trump is weighing fresh strikes against Iran as the U.S. military prepares for possible major combat operations and mediators push a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump discussed Iran with his top national security advisers Thursday in their first such meeting since Tuesday’s congressional elections, Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials.
The president is considering renewed strikes, continued economic pressure or a negotiated deal involving substantial American concessions, according to the report.
U.S. Central Command is completing preparations for a possible resumption of major operations against Iran, a U.S. official told Axios. But it has received no new directive from Washington.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt and its carrier strike group were scheduled to begin a multi-day port visit in Singapore on Friday before continuing toward the Middle East. The group would not reach Central Command’s area of responsibility before mid-November, the official said.
As military preparations continue, Qatar is working with Washington and Tehran on a draft agreement that would require both sides to take steps over two days.
The proposal would begin with the United States lifting its naval blockade and releasing some frozen Iranian assets. In exchange, Iran would formally invite International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to nuclear facilities that were bombed during the conflict.
The Strait of Hormuz would reopen on the second day. Nuclear negotiations would then resume, with Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium a central issue.
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Those provisions remain part of a diplomatic proposal, rather than an announced agreement.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held calls Thursday with regional mediators from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Egypt.
Tehran also took its case to Moscow, Axios said.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a key participant in indirect negotiations with Washington, met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Thursday.
The meeting followed a phone conversation between the two and a Russian offer to mediate between the United States and Iran.
Rezaei said he delivered a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. He also said Putin expressed a willingness to help end the war.
But Rezaei maintained that Washington must satisfy Iran’s seven conditions for diplomacy before Tehran would agree to negotiations or reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
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