Trump revives threats: “Soon I will decide whether to destroy the regime in Iran or not”

Donald Trump told Axios he is facing a critical decision on the course of the war with Iran, leaving open the possibility of reactivating large-scale military operations, with the aim, as he put it, of ending the conflict. “I have a big decision in front of me. Do I want to go in and destroy [the Iranian regime] or not? It’s a big decision. Everything can happen to me,” the U.S. president said in the interview. Although Trump has made similar threats in the past, his new statements carry particular weight, as they came days before his planned meeting with the leaders of the six Gulf countries, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. The meeting is expected to include the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, with a focus on the next phase of the conflict. The meeting is expected to have a decisive impact on whether Washington will attempt a new diplomatic effort or escalate military operations. According to U.S. officials, if Trump decides to return to large-scale combat operations, he will need the support of the U.S.’s regional allies. The U.S. president has repeated in recent days that the war will end soon. However, some U.S. officials warn that the conflict has led to an unstable “neither war nor peace” state and assess that Trump could return to full military action if no agreement is reached by the U.S. midterm elections. Trump made it clear that at the UN meeting he wants to hear directly from the Gulf states about the next steps. “I want to know where they are and how things are going. We have been very protective of them,” he said. The U.S. president avoided specifying whether he would make his final decisions before or after the midterm elections. In early August, Trump had decided not to proceed immediately with a new large-scale military operation, after concerns expressed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar that Iran could respond with attacks on their oil and energy facilities. Since then, the U.S. administration has pursued a more restrained approach, suspending negotiations with Tehran, imposing a new campaign of economic sanctions, maintaining a naval blockade of Iranian ports and focusing on reopening shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military has significantly increased the passage of oil and gas tankers through the Strait, but traffic remains below pre-war levels, while oil prices remain high. U.S. officials note that the president must soon decide on the direction he will take, as the U.S. military cannot stay on standby for an indefinite period. Trump also said he is particularly pleased with the naval blockade, claiming it has prevented Iran from exporting oil. “Not a single ship has gone to Iran since we started. They tried and we blew them up,” he said in characteristic fashion. At the same time, he claimed Iran is in direct communication with the U.S. and that the Iranian side still wants to reach an agreement. Finally, when asked whether he would meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York next week, Trump replied: “Maybe.”