President Trump says he's nearing a make-or-break call on Iran: "I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them … or do I not? It's a big decision. Anything could happen with me," he told Axios Thursday. He framed it as a looming choice on whether to restart large-scale military operations to try to end what some US officials describe as a grinding stalemate. The timing is tied to a Tuesday sit-down in New York with leaders from six Gulf states on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, a meeting that could help determine whether Washington leans back toward diplomacy or escalates the fight.
Trump, who has paused major attacks since August after Gulf allies warned of strikes on Saudi energy facilities, has instead tightened sanctions, sustained a naval blockade on Iranian ports, and pushed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers. Officials say the US force posture in the region can't stay in limbo much longer, and that Trump must soon define an "endgame." The White House is also sketching a post-war plan centered on containing Iran and broadening Arab-Israeli normalization, with Israel's October elections and the US midterms looming over any decision on whether to ramp the war back up. Reuters describes the world leaders Trump will face at the UN next week as "deeply skeptical" of the US-Iran war. On Wednesday night, before his comments to Axios, Trump told reporters the war was "hopefully" nearing an end, CNBC reports.
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