Khaberni - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday to "Time" magazine that Iran is eager to strike a deal to end the fighting.
Trump added in a phone interview with the magazine, "The Iranians are very tough and capable of enduring tremendous pain, and I respect them for that, but they are better negotiators than fighters."
The U.S. president believed it makes sense for the Iranians to reach out for negotiations "after we blew up 3 large bridges for them last night."
According to Trump’s aides, as reported by the magazine, "the hope is that the deterioration of Iran's military capabilities and the weakening of its leadership structure will preclude the possibility of a nuclear state, dismantle Iran's ballistic missile program, and set the stage for internal change."
The magazine, in a detailed report, mentioned that some national security officials warned that a continued attack might accelerate Tehran's nuclear ambitions rather than deterring them.
A White House official was quoted saying, "The only way Iranians would believe they could prevent such an incident from happening again is by possessing a nuclear weapon. It’s now a greater burden on us to reach a concrete and feasible agreement that sufficiently prevents them from acquiring a nuclear weapon."
The report quoted an informed source saying, "War Secretary Pete Hegseth was taken aback by the sequence of retaliatory attacks Tehran launched on American and Israeli targets across the region, including in Gulf countries,"
It added, "Hegseth had pointed out, in deliberations prior to the war, Iran’s calm response to previous Trump attacks as evidence that using calculated force could incur losses to Tehran without igniting a wider war."
The magazine noted that two sources confirmed to it that J.D. Vance - Vice President to Trump - was the most opposed to the operation in Iran among those close to the president."
Election Loss
The magazine mentioned that Susie Wiles, the White House Chief of Staff, and a small group of Trump's aides informed the American president that the duration of the war threatened his popularity, as well as the Republicans' chances in the upcoming midterm congressional elections in November.
According to two sources, "Wiles was worried that Trump’s aides were providing him with an overly optimistic view of the war domestically, telling Trump what he wanted to hear rather than what he needed to hear, and she urged her colleagues to be more honest with the president about the political and economic risks,"
The report also mentioned that Trump's advisers and two Congress members said, "The increasing political and economic losses pushed Trump to look for an exit."
They added, "Trump told us he wants to decrease the campaign gradually, fearing a drawn-out conflict might weaken the Republicans ahead of the midterm elections, but at the same time, he wants the operation to achieve a decisive success."
They continued, "The president is looking for a way to declare victory and stop the fighting, hoping for economic stabilization before the political damages worsen."
Israel's Stance
Trump confirmed in his interview with the magazine that Israel would comply with him once he stopped waging war, saying, "The Israelis will do as I say to them; they have been very cooperative and will stop when I stop.., the Israelis will stop unless provoked, in which case they will have no choice but to continue, but they will stop when I stop."
The magazine quoted an Israeli official saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not have much room to maneuver without Trump's support, due to the impending Israeli elections.
He added that "Netanyahu repeatedly told Trump - over the last six months - that previous successes against Iran should serve as a preamble to a more sustained final campaign."
Since February 28, Israel and the United States have waged a war against Iran, resulting in thousands of casualties and injuries, while Tehran responds with missiles and drones towards Israel.
Iran also targets what it claims to be American locations and interests in Arab countries, although some attacks resulted in casualties and injuries, and caused damage to civilian facilities, which were condemned by the targeted countries.
