Trump weighs holding off on Iran strikes unless provoked, officials say

President Donald Trump has told senior advisers in recent days that he could hold off on attacking Iran if there are no new provocations from Tehran or from the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

The people, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Trump weighed the option in meetings with his national security team and after a series of intelligence briefings. He has not settled on a course, current and former officials said, and has moved between threatening new strikes and speaking of winding the war down.

The war, which Trump launched with Israel in February, has pushed up global fuel prices and become unpopular at home. Democrats won control of Congress in the November 3 midterm elections, and Vice President JD Vance said the war was the reason Republicans lost it. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken shortly before the vote, 55 percent of Americans said the war was not worth the cost.

Trump described his approach in an interview with sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith on Thursday. "I could end it immediately, but at the request of the nations that I am looking to protect, we are doing it a little bit longer way, a bit more civilly," he said.

A White House official said in a statement: "As Commander-in-Chief, President Trump is the architect and sole decision-maker who holds all the cards and will always ensure that America's interests are protected." The official added that the United States holds the Strait of Hormuz and that "only President Trump knows what he will do, and when." The CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to requests for comment.

In calls over the past two weeks, Trump asked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for their views, and both urged him not to resume strikes, according to a senior US official and another person familiar with the matter. Trump made no commitment either way. Two other people said Trump told bin Salman on October 31 that he planned to attack after the elections, and the crown prince argued that economic sanctions were working. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Turkey's presidency said Trump had spoken with Erdogan three times since October 28, and its readout of the November 7 call said tensions between Iran and the United States need to end.

US intelligence agencies have assessed that the naval blockade and sanctions are hurting Iran's economy and will keep pressure on Tehran, two US officials briefed on the intelligence said. The military is also trying to stop weapons and sanctioned material entering Iran by land and across the Caspian Sea. A third aircraft carrier is due in the region in the coming days to replace one of the two there, and all three could stay if needed, three people familiar with US planning said.

The same officials said the agencies judged that renewed strikes would not significantly shift Iran's negotiating position, and that stockpiles of some US munitions have fallen to worrying levels. The White House said the military has "enough munitions and ammo to serve all of the Commander-in-Chief's strategic goals and beyond." Israeli officials have continued to press for another campaign, according to a US official.

Trump wrote on social media on Thursday: "We don't need a deal with Iran. We've got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we've got their Strait!" The reports carried no comment from Iran's government.