Trump Calm Despite Iran's Hardline Demands: Is He Pulling Out of War Without a Nuclear Deal?

Even though Iran has put forward even stricter preconditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. President Donald Trump has refrained from mentioning military options, leading to speculation that he may be seeking an exit strategy from the war.

U.S. media reports indicating that President Trump has signaled to those around him his willingness to end the war even without a nuclear agreement have further reinforced interpretations that he is focusing on wrapping up the conflict rather than resuming airstrikes.

This possibility of President Trump pulling out is gaining further momentum as he shows a relatively calm attitude rather than angering over Iran's excessive demands.

On the 8th local time, Iran announced six conditions through Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary-general of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), as preconditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including the lifting of the U.S. maritime blockade and the withdrawal of surrounding U.S. troops.

As this level significantly exceeded the terms of the June end-of-war memorandum of understanding (MOU), which sought to exchange a resolution of the nuclear issue for Iranian demands, the U.S. response drew keen attention.

How the United States would respond to Iran's holdout—putting forward demands far more favorable to itself than the MOU, which was effectively shattered by the armed clashes between the two sides surrounding the Strait of Hormuz—was considered a critical turning point for the direction of the war.

Contrary to expectations, the Trump administration appears largely unfazed.

First, Vice President JD Vance appeared on Fox News and said, "What we are actually discussing is how to establish a traffic system so that ships can pass safely," refraining from commenting on Iran's unreasonable demands themselves.

President Trump himself mentioned in an interview on the 9th that he is responding to the Iran issue with a "low-key" approach, prompting major U.S. media outlets to unanimously evaluate that the U.S. may be placing more weight on economic pressure than on additional military action as its strategy to counter Iran.

In addition, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing administration officials, reported that President Trump has privately indicated to senior aides that he is willing to pull out of the war even if a nuclear deal is not reached, raising prospects that an end to the war could happen without a nuclear agreement.

According to reports, President Trump mentioned that because the United States destroyed three Iranian nuclear facilities last year, the possibility of Iran resuming nuclear development during his term is slim.

The newspaper also reported that President Trump has been laying the groundwork over the past few weeks to declare victory once the Strait of Hormuz is fully reopened.

Indeed, on the 7th, President Trump shared a link to an article titled "Donald Trump Won the Iran War" on Truth Social, conveying a message to the effect that war objectives have already been achieved.

President Trump's recent search for an exit from the Iran war is not unrelated to the situation where the prolonged conflict is rapidly depleting the U.S. military's key weapon systems.

When successive reports pointed out a severe shortage of U.S. interceptor missiles, President Trump has outwardly denied them.

However, internally, he has ordered a crackdown on the leaks of military secrets while putting great effort into securing replenishment stocks.

The WSJ reported on the 7th that President Trump ordered a "new investigation" to verify whether the ammunition stockpile reports he received are accurate while countering disclosures damaging to the war effort.

In particular, the shortage of U.S. interceptor missiles is taken even more sensitively because it could cause overall disruptions to the security in Asia and Europe that the U.S. needs to mind, not only in the Middle East but also in preparing for China's invasion scenario of Taiwan, maintaining the defense posture against North Korea on the Korean Peninsula, and supporting the war in Ukraine.

Although the U.S. is seeking an exit while even modifying its war goals, its options appear to be narrowing due to Iran's excessive demands.

Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said, "Iran's hardline assertions surrounding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz are making it increasingly difficult for President Trump to carve out a face-saving exit from the conflict."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.