U.S. President Donald Trump erupted at members of his team last week amid growing frustration with the military options available against Iran and the failure to secure a deal ending the war, NBC News reported Thursday.
Despite Trump’s public expressions of satisfaction with recent developments, neither the president nor his senior aides are pleased with the status quo, according to the report.
Donald Trump
(Photo: Anna Moneymaker, AFP, AP)
“After all this time, there is no unity,” a U.S. official told NBC, referring to the administration’s inability to agree on a path forward.
A Trump ally who has spoken with the president about the war in recent weeks said: “The president is exasperated. I don’t think he believed it was going to be this difficult to get the Iranians to agree to a deal. There was not a real strategy for how long or what they should do to get to the endpoint.”
“He did not intend this to be a long, drawn-out war,” the ally added.
The White House denied that Trump had lost his temper with his team. “This is false. The president has a great team whom he trusts, and everyone on the team knows he’s the final decision-maker,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC.
A U.S. official told the network that uncertainty over the administration’s objectives, whether preventing an Iranian nuclear breakout, ensuring the Strait of Hormuz remains open or destroying Iran’s missile and drone program, had made it extremely difficult to plan an end to the campaign.
According to the official, the military prepared for a renewed major attack without receiving clear instructions from the White House about what it was expected to achieve. “We’ve had a series of tactical victories, but we’re facing a strategic defeat without clear policy guidance or a decision about where this is going,” the official said.
US strikes in Iran overnight
(Video: CENTCOM)
The report came as the U.S. military carried out its first strikes in Iran in six days overnight, in response to the Islamic Republic’s missile fire toward Jordan. The operation was a “powerful response to Iran’s attempts to attack American forces stationed in the Middle East,” U.S. Central Command said.
Iranian media reported explosions at several locations in the country’s south, including Qeshm, where a couple and their 2-year-old son were reportedly killed. Two children, aged 7 and 9, were wounded and taken to a hospital.
About two hours later, CENTCOM announced that it had completed the wave of strikes. “Dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets were struck, including command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defense sites and maritime capabilities,” it said. Shortly afterward, Iran launched five missiles toward Jordan, which said all of them were intercepted.
Trump had threatened Iran with a forceful response Wednesday afternoon, telling Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst: “We’re going to beat the fuc*ing sh*t out of them.”
Speaking later at the White House, however, Trump declined to specify when the response would come.
“We’ll be hitting them very hard,” he said. “They know it’s coming, and they asked us not to do it. There’s very little they can do. This is a different group than the one we’re talking to. They apologized. Five missiles were fired, all intercepted. Now it’s our turn. We’ll see if we get an agreement. We’re going to give them a little spanking.”
Trump: ‘We’re going to hit them very hard’
Meanwhile, a senior U.S. administration official told The Wall Street Journal that Trump was still considering military response options against Iran and had not yet decided where to strike or how extensive the attack should be.
The official said Trump had not been surprised by Iran’s decision to resume fighting and was now in an “escalatory mood.”
The Journal also reported that Trump was considering approving a broad air campaign against Iran involving 10 to 14 days of intensive strikes aimed at severely damaging its missile capabilities.
Officials familiar with the administration’s internal discussions said the plan was developed by CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly supports the proposal, while Trump is also considering more limited strikes that would leave room for further diplomatic talks.