Trump weighs 'all-out war' as Iran negotiators spin their wheels: 'Finish the job'

President Donald Trump has held a series of private conversations with top military officials over whether to abandon diplomacy with Iran and resume full-scale military strikes, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

Some aides have described the option as "finishing the job," but for now, Trump has decided against it, telling advisers that another round of heavy strikes could derail negotiations and jeopardize the broader goal of dismantling Iran's nuclear program entirely, reported the Wall Street Journal.

"President Trump has weighed a return to all-out war with Iran, holding multiple conversations in recent days with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine on more strikes, but has decided to stick with diplomatic talks for now, according to U.S. officials familiar with the discussion," the report said.

The president has also indicated he's willing to let an Aug. 18 deadline for a nuclear agreement pass without treating it as a breaking point, giving talks more time to develop. In the meantime, he appears content relying on narrower, retaliatory strikes whenever Iran breaches the existing memorandum of understanding — a policy already tested over the weekend, when limited fighting strained a ceasefire reached just two weeks earlier.

Publicly, Trump maintains an upbeat posture, insisting Iran is "agreeing to everything" the U.S. wants and warning that failure to comply means "we just go back and do what we have to do." Vice President JD Vance struck a similar tone, saying the administration would "work the problem" diplomatically but retains "a lot of optionality" if talks collapse.

Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Doha this week for another round of indirect negotiations, communicating through mediators rather than directly with Iranian officials.

A central obstacle remains Iran's demand for steep transit fees on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz — a position the U.S. rejects, insisting the waterway must stay open as it was before the conflict. Iran has also refused to accept the extent of nuclear restrictions Trump claims it already agreed to.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Tuesday that Iran "has not been cooperative at all yet," crediting continued U.S. naval escorts — not Iranian cooperation — for stabilizing global oil flows. A newly established communication channel between the Revolutionary Guard Corps and U.S. Central Command has offered a modest de-escalation tool, though officials are divided on how much it signals genuine improvement.

The stalled talks have pushed Trump to solicit fresh military options from Hegseth and Caine, who have outlined paths back to large-scale airstrikes.

Officials note this would be a tacit admission that the earlier campaign, which struck more than 13,000 targets in Iran, failed to force lasting compliance — a scenario Trump has so far chosen to avoid, despite repeated threats to escalate.