US President Donald Trump has discussed the possibility of returning to full-scale war with Iran in recent days but has so far opted to continue pursuing diplomacy, according to a report in the US media, as fresh indirect talks between Washington and Tehran got underway in Qatar .
The Wall Street Journal , citing US officials familiar with the discussions, reported that Trump held repeated meetings with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine over whether Washington should abandon negotiations and resume large-scale military strikes against Iran, in what some officials described as "finishing the job".
Although Trump has yet to make a final decision, the report said he told aides that launching a new round of comprehensive attacks could undermine the diplomatic track and reduce Washington's chances of permanently dismantling Iran's nuclear programme.
According to the outlet, Trump has also signalled a willingness to let negotiations continue beyond the 60-day deadline on 18 August set for reaching a nuclear agreement, allowing more time for diplomacy.
The newspaper added that the US president is currently satisfied with a strategy of launching limited strikes whenever Iran breaches the memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreed between the two sides.
That policy resulted in an exchange of attacks over the past weekend, undermining a fragile ceasefire reached two weeks earlier.
While military briefings outlining options available to the president are routine, the newspaper said the recent discussions suggest Trump is seeking ways to break the current deadlock with Tehran without ruling out a return to war.
Some US officials reportedly acknowledge that resuming large-scale fighting would amount to an implicit admission that the Trump administration's agreement with Iran had failed.
Despite the behind-the-scenes deliberations, Trump has continued to publicly project confidence in the negotiations.
Speaking to reporters last week, he said the Iranians "are agreeing to everything we want, otherwise we'll go back to doing what has to be done".
US Vice President JD Vance also reaffirmed the administration's position during an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, saying Trump's instructions had been to continue pursuing negotiations while retaining other options should diplomacy fail.
Meanwhile, Trump's envoys to Iran, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, arrived in Doha on Tuesday for a new round of indirect negotiations, according to the WSJ. The talks are being conducted through mediators rather than directly with Iranian officials, while technical experts from both sides are also expected to hold indirect discussions later this week.
In a statement to Reuters on Wednesday, a senior Iranian official said that indirect talks between Tehran and Washington had been ongoing since Tuesday night in the Qatari capital, adding that the focus was "on Iran's frozen assets and the Strait of Hormuz".
The WSJ reported that one of the main sticking points remains Iran's insistence on imposing service fees on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz .
Washington wants the strategic waterway to remain open under the same conditions that existed before the war, while Tehran continues to reject strict limits on its nuclear programme, despite Trump's repeated claims that Iran has already agreed to such restrictions.
Diplomatic and military activity has continued across the region amid efforts to contain renewed tensions over the implementation of the MoU signed by Washington and Tehran on 17 June.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said implementation of the agreement would be discussed with Qatari officials in Doha on Wednesday.
Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the current meetings were intended to fulfil "the commitments of the memorandum of understanding".
Ghalibaf, who also serves as speaker of Iran's parliament, added that Tehran "will not participate in any further negotiations until the conditions contained in the memorandum have been met".