Trump says he’s ‘hopeful’ Iran deal can be reached without Israeli military strike on nuclear program

New U.S. President Donald Trump revealed more indications of his future policy toward the Iranian regime on Thursday, telling reporters in the Oval Office that he would prefer a diplomatic solution.

Asked if he would support Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, Trump at first replied, “I’m not going to answer that,” adding that he would soon hold high-level discussions on the issue.

“Hopefully that can be worked out without having to worry about it. It would really be nice if that could be worked out without having to go that further step,” Trump said.

“Iran will hopefully make a deal, and if they don’t make a deal that’s okay too.”

In recent days there have been several indications that the new Trump administration will not immediately return to its “maximum pressure” policy toward the regime, or at least, couple it with a parallel diplomatic offensive rather than to threaten military strikes.

Senior U.S. officials told Channel 12 that the new president “doesn’t want to kick off his term with a war,” but rather believes that “the Iranians will run to the negotiating table under his leadership.

U.S. media reported this week that Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who was involved in the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, would be trusted with handling the Iran file, which also signals a more diplomatic approach.

However, when asked whether Witkoff would be tasked with negotiating directly with the Iranian regime, Trump answered “no” while adding that Witkoff is “certainly somebody I would use,” before praising his work on the Gaza deal.

Some two weeks ago, Witkoff told Fox News that “The president will not allow a bomb to be gotten by the Iranians. Not going to happen. We're not going to that place... hopefully, we can solve it diplomatically.”

“And the president is all about solving it diplomatically, if that's possible, and if people are going to adhere to their agreements. But, if not, then the alternative is not necessarily a good one,” he added.

Several of Trump’s recent moves have Iran hawks increasingly concerned that the new administration will prioritize diplomacy over a return to its “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.

The new president revoked the security details of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Iran envoy Brian Hook, two of the leading Iran hawks from his previous administration.

Hook was also unceremoniously cut loose from his positions at the Wilson Center for Scholars and in Trump’s transition team at the State Department.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that Hook and three other officials are “not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again,” adding, “YOU’RE FIRED!” 

In addition, two other recent Trump appointments have shown skepticism over the importance of a strong U.S. position vis-à-vis the Iranian regime.

Elbridge Colby was nominated as the under-secretary of defense for policy. According to a source on the presidential transition team cited by the Jewish Insider (JI), Colby was also responsible for hiring Michael DiMino as the Pentagon’s new top Middle East official.

According to JI, DiMino advocates a decrease of the U.S. presence in the Middle East and argues it doesn’t have critical interests in the region.

Last year, DiMino said at a webinar with Defense Priorities that the Middle East does “not really” matter for U.S. interests, adding that “vital or existential threats” to the U.S. in the region are “best characterized as minimal to nonexistent.”

He has also downplayed the threat of Iran’s missile assaults against Israel last year, advocated a diplomatic solution to the war against Hamas, and argued that there is “no credible military solution” to the threat posed by the Houthis in Yemen.