The whipsaw decision marked the latest reversal in a four month war that has left American military power struggling to force concessions from an Iranian regime that has refused to back down on its nuclear program.
The administration insisted that both sides remain bound by a ceasefire and that the United States holds the strategic advantage. But the rapid shift from vows of all out war to a sudden pullback highlights the bind Trump faces as he tries to resolve a conflict that American airpower and a naval blockade choking the Strait of Hormuz have failed to end.
“The question is: You’re bombing what to get what at this point?” said a former Trump administration official. “It doesn’t seem like bombing and the types of bombing that they’re talking about necessarily aligns with making meaningful gains or creating such a position that Iran is so weakened that they will be forced to the table.”
The reversal is a microcosm of a war that has driven up gasoline prices and damaged Trump politically at home. The president and his top advisers have repeatedly declared the conflict over and announced that a sweeping nuclear deal was nearly complete, only to see those predictions collapse.
“Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Thursday, explaining his decision to pull back from strikes that he said would have hit Iran “hard.”
The Iranian regime has already weathered an unprecedented air campaign that killed much of its senior leadership, sank its navy and damaged its defense manufacturing capacity. Yet it has found new leverage by threatening oil shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, squeezing the global energy market and testing Washington’s resolve.
As far as negotiations go, the Iranians “blame Trump for constantly asking for modifications and then modifying his own modifications,” said Ali Vaez, an analyst with the International Crisis Group who has contacts in Tehran. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi warned on social media Thursday that Iranian troops will “defend every inch of the country’s soil” and threatened U.S. allies with retaliation should they assist American strikes.
