Despite the United States launching military counterstrikes against Iran on Tuesday evening, US President Donald Trump maintains that a diplomatic breakthrough remains imminent, according to a high-ranking administration source cited by Politico.
“Nothing changes where the deal stands right now," said the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive national security information. The official stressed that a deal with Tehran was “still close."
The American bombardments were executed in response to an Iranian assault over the weekend that destroyed a US Apache helicopter in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz. Both the commander-in-chief and US Central Command emphasized that Washington's armed reaction was strictly "proportional", marking a significant shift from Trump's prior rhetoric threatening the absolute eradication of Iranian civilization.
The White House source explained that active combat operations in retaliation for the downed aircraft and diplomatic efforts to restore shipping access through the maritime strait are handled independently of one another.
“There’s a military bucket and then there’s a negotiation bucket," the official said, according to Politico. “A helicopter was downed yesterday. We have to respond in kind, but at the same time there’s still a deal trying to be negotiated. So, two things can happen at the same time."
According to the high-ranking official, Washington has already secured its primary tactical benchmarks regarding Tehran, signaling that the combat portion of the campaign has concluded. The administration is now pivoting to the secondary phase of securing a brokered pact and settlement, though the source added that the president continuously holds all strategic options at his disposal.
Concurrently, an insider close to the executive mansion dismissed reports of a severe rift with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Rumors of friction spiked after an exchange of hostilities between Israel and Iran prompted Trump to personally phone Netanyahu and instruct him to refrain from launching any strikes outside of immediate, symmetrical retaliation.
The individual insisted that the diplomatic fallout is exaggerated and that the Israeli leader maintains considerable support within the White House.
“Ultimately, I think the president and his national security team understand that they have very different objectives and very different security postures in the region. Obviously, the president is frustrated by that reality, but I don’t necessarily think he wants to hamstring Israel. The more Israel is under attack, the more U.S. involvement will ultimately take place," the person said.