US President Donald Trump returned from his high-level trip to China on Friday without scoring any major breakthrough on the Iran war, a topic that members of his administration had hoped would help resolve following the visit.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way back to Washington, Trump said Xi wanted to see the Strait of Hormuz reopened and agreed that Iran should never obtain a nuclear weapon. However, these are statements that Beijing had already given before.
“He would like to see it end. He would like to help. If he wants to help, that’s great. But we don’t need help,” Trump told Fox News when asked about Xi’s role.
Many administration officials wanted to see how the talks would pan out before coming to a decision, however, the lack of any visible progress on ground has now left Trump facing an uphill position over whether to continue the path of diplomacy, or resume military action.
As per administration officials, there has been much internal dissent over what the next step should be, as some, particularly in the Pentagon, have argued for a more aggressive approach — including targeted strikes — that they hope would further pressure Iran into compromising, reports CNN.
Others have advocated for continuing diplomacy combined with economic pressure, believing that despite Iran’s hardline stance, if pushed hard enough, it would agree to a deal without reigniting full-scale conflict.
Trump himself has leaned toward negotiations in recent weeks, hoping that sanctions, along with increasing military pressure and direct talks would eventually produce an agreement between Tehran and Washington.
So far, however, Iran has not budged one bit from its stance since the ceasefire announced in April, with its demands remaining the same: an end to the US blockade, war reparations, recognition of Iranian sovereignty over Strait of Hormuz, end to international sanctions, and end to the Lebanon conflict.
Speaking bluntly about Tehran’s latest proposal, Trump said “Well, I looked at it and if I don’t like the first sentence, I just throw it away.”
In a Truth Social post published Friday morning Beijing time, Trump signalled that military action still remains on the table, writing that the campaign against Iran was “to be continued!”
