Report: Trump leaning toward Iran strikes while Vance pushes to give diplomacy a chance

White House says Iran sending conciliatory signals to US as President Trump mulls response to escalating violence against Iranian protesters; Vice President Vance reportedly advocates holding off on military intervention.

By World Israel News Staff

President Donald Trump is leaning toward striking Iran over its slaughter of anti-regime protesters, according to multiple reports, while Vice President JD Vance is lobbying the president to accept Iranian overtures to attempt to reach a diplomatic solution.

On Sunday, Trump told reporters that Iran has reached out to his administration with offers to return to the negotiating table.

A day later, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed Trump’s claims, telling Fox News that despite Tehran’s bellicose rhetoric in public statements, privately the Islamic Republic has sought to engage the US diplomatically.

“What the Iranian regime is saying publicly is quite different from the messages they are sending to the United States and the Trump administration privately.”

The president has repeatedly warned Iran not to use deadly force against protesters, adding Sunday that Tehran was “starting to” cross his red lines.

Tamir Morag of Israel’s Channel 14 reported that Trump has already decided to strike Iran,and is merely biding time to increase American military assets in the region.

A New York Times report published Monday cited multiple US officials who echoed Morag’s claim, stating that the president “leans toward” an air campaign against the Iranian regime.

However, a number of senior administration officials, including the vice president, are said to be pressing Trump to give diplomacy a chance before ordering strikes on Iran.

A report by Axios, which cited two unnamed sources, claimed that Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi over the weekend.

The two discussed arrangements for a face-to-face meeting sometime in the next few days, with the goal of avoiding a new conflict between the two countries.

Trump told reporters on Sunday that “a meeting is being set up” between US and Iranian officials, but added that the plans could potentially be canceled if a rapid military response becomes necessary.