Trump under pressure to draft Iran exit strategy – report

White House advisers are reportedly pushing the president to devise a clear exit strategy for the Iran conflict, warning that an extended campaign could erode Republican support.

By World Israel News Staff

Advisers to President Donald Trump are pressing him to devise an exit strategy for the conflict with Iran, several unnamed sources told The Wall Street Journal, warning that if Operation Epic Fury continues for an extended period of time, the president could risk losing Republican support.

Publicly, Trump has given conflicting signals regarding the likely duration of the war with Iran.

Last week, the president suggested the conflict was estimated to take four to five weeks, while noting the uncertainties around those estimates.

On Monday, however, Trump said the war was already nearing completion after just 10 days, telling reporters that the air campaign was ahead of schedule.

Later that day, the president appeared to qualify his previous claim, saying that the war was unlikely to be completed this week, though it still could be over “very soon.”

Some White House officials, the Journal reported, are concerned the president does not have a clear definition of what would constitute victory against Iran, and under what conditions the US would end its involvement in the conflict.

Given the fighting between Iran and multiple Middle Eastern allies of the United States, most notably Israel, some of the president’s advisers fear that it is becoming increasingly difficult for the US to extricate itself from the war.

The report said that a number of his advisers have urged Trump over the past few days to draw up a clear plan for ending Operation Epic Fury, while arguing that the US has already achieved most of its goals.

The sources cited in the report said that the president has closely followed polling on support for the operation.

Surveys have shown sharply contradictory results, with some suggesting little more than a quarter of American adults back the conflict.

Others, however, particularly those screening for likely voters, show more than half of the country backs the war with Iran.

The White House emphatically rejected the report, which it described as being “full of crap.”

“This story is full of crap from anonymous sources who, I can guarantee, are not in the room with President Trump,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “The president’s top aides are focused 24/7 on ensuring Operation Epic Fury continues to be a tremendous success, and the end of these operations will ultimately be determined by the commander in chief.”