The decision Trump must make after a summit in China with no visible progress. The options on Iran and what irritates it the most
US President Donald Trump has grown increasingly dissatisfied with diplomatic efforts to end the war in Iran, and within his administration there are differing views on the way forward, according to CNN.
Some administration officials in Washington had said they wanted to see how talks between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping play out before a way forward on the Middle East situation is decided.
The US leader returned from Beijing on Friday after a two-day summit with Xi Jinping, after which he told Fox News that he does not need China's help in resolving the conflict in Iran.
Now, Donald Trump must decide whether launching new attacks on Iran is really the best option to end a war that has stretched beyond the six weeks he originally estimated, driving up fuel prices and hurting his popularity in the eyes of the electorate as a steward of the economy.
Differing views inside the Trump administration
There were differing views within the US administration on the way forward on Iran, sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
Some voices, including Pentagon officials, have called for a more aggressive approach, including targeted strikes, which they hope will pressure Iran to accept a compromise.
Others, however, want the emphasis to be on diplomacy. Trump himself has taken this approach in recent weeks, hoping that by combining direct negotiations with economic pressure he will persuade Iran to strike a deal. However, Tehran has not budged much from its terms since the US leader announced a truce in April.
As Iran has shown no willingness to budge from its position, Trump has grown increasingly impatient.
The issues that particularly irritate him are the blockage in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global energy and goods supplies, and the division he sees in the Iranian leadership, which has further complicated the negotiations, the sources said.
“The president has all options. However, his preference is always diplomacy,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told CNN, arguing that Trump “will only accept a deal that protects our country's national security.”
Trump claims he doesn't need China's help
After returning from China, the US president told Fox News that he does not need Xi Jinping's help in resolving the war in Iran.
“He would like to help. If he wants to help, that's great, but we don't need help,” the US leader was quoted as saying by CBS News.
During the return flight, he had told reporters aboard Air Force One that China's president agreed that Iran should reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Even so, Beijing has given no sign of getting involved in the matter, Reuters notes.
“I'm not asking for any favors, because when you ask for favors you have to return the favor,” Donald Trump said when asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One if Xi Jinping had made a firm commitment to pressure the Iranians to reopen the route.
International Coalition to Unblock the Strait of Hormuz
A coalition led by France and the United Kingdom, joined by more than 40 countries, is preparing an intervention to reopen the route after a cease-fire agreement, according to military analysis publication Breaking Defense.
The MMA mission was defined at the April summit in Paris as “independent and strictly defensive to protect merchant vessels and reassure operators”. The plan established by the joint document of the governments of London and Paris also provides for the start of “demining operations as soon as conditions permit, following a durable ceasefire”.
In peacetime, about 20 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz daily, accounting for 25 percent of global maritime crude oil trade, according to EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) data.
A fifth of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG) consumption also usually travels through the same route.
