Barak Ravid – Axios April 16, 2025
President Trump has vowed to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon — but inside his national security team there’s a divide over the best way to do it.
Why it matters: This isn’t a theoretical debate. Trump has dispatched negotiators to try to get a deal, and B-2 bombers and aircraft carriers for plan b.
- Officials are divided over which route is more likely to be successful. But they agree that without a deal, there will likely be war.
- “The Iran policy is not very clear mainly because it is still being figured out. It is tricky because it’s a highly politically charged issue,” a U.S. official with knowledge of the internal discussions told Axios.
Driving the news: Trump convened his top advisers for a Situation Room meeting on Iran on Monday, including officials on both sides of the policy divide.
- “There are different approaches but people are not shouting at each other,” the U.S. official said.
- “The president is proud that he has a team with different views. He listens to all of them and finally takes the decision that thinks is in the best interest of the American people,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios.
Behind the scenes: One camp, unofficially led by Vice President Vance, believes a diplomatic solution is both preferable and possible and that the U.S. should be ready to make compromises in order to make it happen. Vance is highly involved in the Iran policy discussions, another U.S. official said.
- This camp includes also Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff — who represented the U.S. at the first round of Iran talks on Saturday — and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. It also gets outside support from MAGA influencer and Trump whisperer Tucker Carlson.
- This group is concerned that striking Iran’s nuclear facilities would put U.S. soldiers in the region in harm’s way when Iran strikes back.
- They also argue a new conflict in the region would send oil prices skyrocketing at a sensitive time for the U.S. economy.
The other side: The other camp, which includes national security adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is highly suspicious of Iran and extremely skeptical of the chances of a deal that significantly rolls back Iran’s nuclear program, U.S. officials say.
- Senators close to Trump like Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) also hold that view.
- This camp believes Iran is weaker than ever, and therefore the U.S. should not compromise but insist Tehran fully dismantle its nuclear program — and should either strike Iran directly or support an Israeli strike if they don’t.
- Iran hawks like Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, are lobbying hard for that approach. “The president once called the 2015 Obama deal fatally flawed. The question now is whether he still believes it,” Dubowitz told Axios, warning against accepting “a warmed-over Obama deal.”
Driving the news: The 45-minute conversation between Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oman last Saturday was the most high-level engagement between the U.S. and Iran since the Obama administration.
- It was a particularly fraught encounter given it was Trump who withdrew from Obama’s deal and ordered the assassination of Iran’s most revered military commander, Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
- Now Trump wants to get a nuclear deal, and to do it quickly. He gave Iran a two-month deadline to sign an agreement — without specifying when the clock would actually start ticking.
Friction point: One particularly prominent opponent of diplomacy with Iran is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- Netanyahu’s White House visit last week was tense, particularly when he and Trump discussed Iran, U.S. and Israeli officials say.
- “The president kinda relished sticking it to him on Iran. The same dynamic you saw in public is what happened in private,” one official said, referring to the press conference in which Trump revealed the Iran talks and Netanyahu was visibly uncomfortable.
- “Trump and Bibi see things very differently on the issue of a military strike in Iran,” the official said. Some in the “deal camp” also see Netanyahu’s insistence that Iran must eliminate its entire nuclear program under any deal as unrealistic.
What they’re saying: “President Trump has been clear, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and all options remain on the table. The President has authorized direct and indirect discussions with Iran to make this point clear, but he’s also made clear this cannot go on indefinitely,” White House national security council spokesperson Brian Hughes told Axios.
- “The Trump Administration’s entire national security leadership team is committed to the President’s posture on Iran to ensure peace and stability in the Middle East and security here at home.”
Look, Donald Hitler needs to deliberately exhaust all diplomatic avenues.
This has not nothing to do with nukes. It’s funny, all the other Nazi regimes in Europe, supported the JCOPA deal, everyone liked it, accept Donald Hitler, his Joo backers, and Nazi Israel.
The Iranians have clearly stated that they won’t even accept the JCPOA deal, the one that Donald Hitler said ‘it’s a very bad deal’, but Nazi Europe and Nazi UK thought is was a very good deal.
Donald Hitler wants Iran to basically shut down its tech and military sectors, to literally pound their missiles and weapons into the desert dust, so Iran ceases to be a sovereign nation state.
There’s no way Iran will accept this deal, and Donald Hitler knows this. Mike Waltz was let go, because he was leading US foreign policy, when it’s Donald Hitler’s job to talk with Bibi, even though DH doesn’t like Netanyahu. Waltz had issues with other members of DHs team, so he had to go.
Donald Hitler has two tasks. One, enable a Greater Israel, two, contain, and probably crush China.
It just so happens that it’s very complicated. China gets over 30% of its oil from Iran. China, and Russia see Iran as a very important country, with an MIC well inside the global top 10, and in some areas, it leads the world. Iran is also in a very strategic location.
So Donald Hitler, the exceptional, has a few nuts he can’t crack.
DH isn’t walking away from UKraine, he’s walking away from the chat room, but it is symbolic. Will he walk away from Iran, will they let him walk away, does he want to walk away?
As well as dedollarisation, turning away paid for pork shipments, the Chinese have quietly introduced laws that prohibit the use of Amerikan chips in China. Silicone Valley has been well and truly kicked in the nuts.
My take, Donald Hitler has been very badly advised, and he’s made decisions with his heart, and not his head.
It’s all very bad. Donald Hitler looks a fool, will soon be wildly recognised as a fool. Will they get rid of him, or will it be WW3?
Caroline Leavitt, press sec;
…’’He (Trump) listens to all of them and finally takes the decision that he thinks is in the best interest of the American people,”
Err, shouldnt that be…
.. ‘he listens to all of them and finally takes the decision he thinks is in the best interest of GLOBAL WORLD PEACE ‘ !
A very good article on the topic
https://www.unz.com/jfreud/the-similarities-of-white-identity-and-iranian-uranium-and-the-war-on-both-by-jewish-supremacism/
and israel keeps its nuclear arms? not goimng to happen however in the interest of peace first israel must get rid of its nuclear arms under international (not UN supervision) I would suggest russia and china. oncew that is completed then usa should stop funding israel then and only then can israel/usa and iran sit down to discuss
“Trump team’s Iran divide” …. A clown car filled with dumb-f*cks, the deeply compromised, and f*ck dolls wide open on both ends for Jewry. Iran isn’t the enemy, it has ALWAYS been Jewry and Israhell.
“Senators close to Trump like Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) also hold that view.” … You can bet your teeth and every cent you will ever have that any foreign policy view held by agents of treachery and treason like Lindsey Closet-Queen Graham and Tom Manchurian Candidate Cotton are firmly against the interests of the average Americunt and firmly in the interests of Shlomo, Shmuley, and the Tribe from Way Down Under. Hey, assholes, the enemies have been inside the gates and you know it. Just look for the yarmulkes, or sin-a-gogs, or hooked-noses, or anyone who thinks that the Talmud is anything other than the insane rantings of satanic lunatics, or if they promote a private “central bank” as a good idea…or just take a look at your co-conspirators in Cuntgress as over 90% of them have completely betrayed the cuntry and citizenry.
Jewry undoubtedly has some very scandalous footage of Graham engaging in depraved acts, and Cotton is one of THE most dangerously stupid dumber-than-dog-shit stooges for Jewry polluting Cuntgress these very dark days…who is also probably shown on video f*cking some abducted children, with a tattoo of the Jew-blue star of Satan on his skinny ass, like the branded reeking piece of shit he is…
Iran can never accept western spying control
of all its instalations + tunnels . they will not
repeat Sadam Hussains error to let all the western
controlers + blackmailers in . it did not help him
nor will it help them . so Trumpelstein better forget it .
IRAN BE PREPARED ! you must shoot it out anyway .
thats the only way a bully understands .
carl jones? just £FF OFF and die with your stupidity