Trump's Iran Dilemma Can Only Be Delayed for So Long
China Raises Fuel Price Caps Again as Iran War Keeps Oil Markets on Edge RFE/RL journalists report the news in 21 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established.
We provide what many… Over two days, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly raised the prospect that the cease-fire with Iran will be broken by new US military strikes -- in comments that have drawn close scrutiny from analysts and policymakers.
In a Truth Social post on May 18, Trump said the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates had asked him to hold off on what he called a "planned military attack," scheduled for May 19, to allow diplomacy more time.
On May 19, he said an attack may take place "Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week," further raising the rhetorical heat on Iran.
Speaking to RFE/RL hours later, Congressman Don Bacon, a senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said further strikes may indeed be necessary.
"They can have no nuclear weapon," he said.
"I think military force is needed." Bacon backed the idea that Trump should seek Congressional authorization for further strikes, and a measure that would require him to do so passed a first procedural vote in the Senate the same day.Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally who voted against subjecting the war to congressional approval, is among those who appear to lean toward more military action.
Following Trump's comments on May 19, he wrote on social media that "the [Iranian] regime has had months to reach a deal, but it seems apparent to me they are playing games." Admiral Brad Cooper -- head of the US Central Command, which oversees American forces cross the Middle East -- told a hearing of the US Congress Armed Services Committee that "our job is to be ready, and we are." But analysts who spoke to RFE/RL indicated that, while there may be a renewed impetus to break the current deadlock with Iran, the strategic dilemma presented by the standoff in the Persian Gulf has not changed.
"A blockade of oil leaving the Gulf and a blockade of materials going into Iran, cannot continue indefinitely,"Mark Cancian, senior adviser with the Defense and Security Department at Center for Strategic and International Studies, told RFE/RL.
"There's no question the administration is looking for an exit.
They very much want to end the conflict," he added.
Danny Citrinowicz, a senior researcher on Iran at the Israel-based Institute for National Security Studies,saidthe situation underscored several important regional dynamics.
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