Three Camps in the White House Are Pushing Trump Toward Different Paths to End the Iran War

There are three camps in the White House pushing President Donald Trump for different paths toward ending the war in Iran as indirect negotiations with Tehran continue to mount.

One of them seeks a negotiated end to the war. That side is led by Vice President JD Vance and White House envoy Steve Witkoff. They say renewed hostilities won't chance the outcome of the conflict, something that most Gulf countries concur with.

The second camp is led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who believes the U.S. should go back to full-fledged hostilities. He says that Iran can't be trusted to make and honor a deal, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreeing with the premise.

The third one argues for a continuation of the status quo, which is the naval blockade and the economic pressure campaign. The camp is led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Trump that this path would either lead Iran to make concessions or create instability in the country to lead to an uprising, Axios noted.

Trump said on Monday that he's in "no rush" to decide whether to resume attacks. "One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush. We crippled them financially. They have no money, no gasoline and their people are getting very tired of it," Trump told Axios.

The outlet went on to note that Qatari mediators are waiting for feedback from Washington and Tehran as indirect talks continue.

"We are talking to them. It's going fine. The problem with them is ... they try and tap" us along, Trump said, noting that "there's less urgency" from Iranian leadership that he expected "but they want to make deal more than they ever wanted."

Iran, in turn, said it has a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in two days if talks with the U.S. progress and broader negotiations to end the war take place.

For that to happen, Tehran reiterated that Washington needs to meet seven conditions, including lifting the blockade of U.S. ports, lift sanctions and agree to a ceasefire that includes Lebanon.

"This once again demonstrates Iran's good-faith approach," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei.

Elsewhere, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei gave the government "certain authorities" to conduct negotiations.

Iranian state media reported that Pezeshkian went on to say that Tehran seeks to solve the war with the U.S. without returning to full-fledged hostilities.