WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President is facing warnings from foes and allies alike that he鈥檚 getting boxed in on , a conflict he sold as a brief military incursion but that has since settled into a holding pattern.
It’s been a week since U.S. and Iranian negotiators to extend in the conflict by 60 days and start a new round of talks that required Trump’s signoff.
But Trump has called for unspecified changes to the agreement and Iranian officials 鈥� perhaps calculating that the Republican president is reluctant to restart the bombardment after 鈥� are showing no signs they’ll give in to new demands.
A series of this week has raised fresh concerns that the ceasefire could collapse. But Trump on Thursday reiterated that he鈥檚 certain his administration is on track to successfully wrap up the conflict.
鈥淲e’re going to win one way or another,鈥� Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The shaky moment follows repeated claims by Trump since was agreed to on April 7 鈥� following 38 days of U.S. and Israel bombing of Iran 鈥� that a deal is just days away and the Iranian side is begging to come to a settlement.
Without an interim settlement in place to reopen , and are adding to anxieties around the world about the impact of rising costs spurred by the 3-month-old conflict on the cost of food, fuel and other goods.
After a string of reports this week that , Trump told CNBC he “couldn’t care less鈥� if the negotiations had bogged down and even mused they had become 鈥渂oring.鈥�
There’s anxiety Trump is getting boxed in
There’s growing concern inside the administration and among key advisers and allies that Trump now finds himself in a bind, according to a U.S. official and another person familiar with the administration鈥檚 internal deliberations, both of whom spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
He’s buffeted by Democrats seizing on oil prices and that an early exit from the conflict would amount to capitulation.
Trump is privately hearing from other Republican lawmakers as well as Pentagon officials and Gulf allies that a return to the bombing campaign is a bad idea.
Those advising against returning to military action note that the U.S. has burned through munitions at too fast a rate. It could take three years to .
Meanwhile, Gulf allies are worried Iran will retaliate against them and their critical infrastructure and energy interests and further set back their economies.
At the same time, Trump has bristled at the idea of accepting a deal that resembles brokered by Democrat Barack Obama’s administration, which restricted Iran鈥檚 nuclear program in exchange for lifting international economic sanctions.
Trump, during his first term, , which he said had failed to permanently stop Iran鈥檚 nuclear program, ignored Iran鈥檚 ballistic-missile development and did not penalize Iran for supporting militant proxy groups across the Middle East.
Now, Trump, according to those familiar with internal deliberations, has made clear he feels strongly he can’t make 鈥渁 bad deal鈥� and is acutely aware he’s at risk of tarnishing his legacy if he missteps.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly dismissed the notion that Trump has been boxed in, or that there鈥檚 any concern within the administration about the pace of talks.
Trump resisted Israel鈥檚 push for Lebanon bombings
Israeli and hawkish allies in Washington have made the case to Trump that a deal at this point would amount to unconditional surrender, urging him to ratchet up economic pressure on Iran and back Israel’s assault on the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.
But Trump, earlier this week, in a heated call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanded Israel stand down. And on Wednesday, Israel and Lebanon said they . Hezbollah was not part of the Israel-Lebanon talks, which have been held at the ambassadorial level in Washington since the beginning of last month, and the militant group has .
Remaining in the current status quo with Tehran 鈥� neither a full resumption of hostilities nor sealing an interim agreement to restart nuclear talks 鈥� is a situation Iran appears better poised to exploit, argued Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the hawkish Washington think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Despite being the weaker party, Iran appears to be calculating that the longer the holding pattern lasts, the better the chances are that it can 鈥渂ox in鈥� Trump, he added.
鈥淓ither way, Tehran appears more resolute than ever to not provide Trump with a victory image, hence why it isn鈥檛 budging on the battlefield or negotiating table,鈥� Taleblu said.
Holding pattern isn’t helpful for Republicans on the ballot
At the same time, Democrats are trying to capitalize on Trump’s handling of ahead of November’s midterm elections. The House of Representatives on Wednesday for the first time passed in military action against Iran, with four Republican lawmakers joining Democrats in the rebuke of Trump鈥檚 war.
The president has
鈥淭he Democrats are fueled by Trump Derangement Syndrome,鈥� Trump fumed in a social media post. 鈥淭he four Republicans, that鈥檚 a whole other story – They鈥檙e GRANDSTANDERS! They should be ashamed of themselves.鈥�
During on Tuesday and Wednesday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Democrats laced into Trump for discounting the economic impact of the conflict on Americans and for failing to anticipate Iran would shutter the Strait.
In one tense exchange, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker pointed to the unsteady ceasefire as a sign Iran has the upper hand.
鈥淲e are the strongest nation on the planet Earth, and we鈥檙e in a stalemate with Iran,鈥� Booker said. 鈥淎nd now we鈥檙e begging to get back into a deal that you all trashed in the first place.鈥�
Rubio dismissed the criticism, underscoring that Iran has been placed on its heels with the strikes, which have taken out multiple layers of senior leadership and left Iran’s economy in shambles.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no one begging,鈥� Rubio responded. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know where you鈥檙e getting this perception that Iran is stronger.鈥�
Another Democrat, Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, homed in on Trump’s comments last month that voter anxiety about the cost of living was 鈥渘ot even a little bit鈥� of a motivating factor for him to reach a deal to end the war.
The president continues to downplay the rising costs for Americans at the pump and predicts that gas prices would fall sharply after the conflict ends.
Christopher Borick, the director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion in Pennsylvania, said that Democrats running in swing districts around the country are already zeroing in on Trump’s rhetoric on the war’s impact on Americans’ pocketbooks.
鈥淭here’s significant risk in having this thing drag on for Republicans,鈥� Borick said. 鈥淏ut for Republicans in some of these tough swing districts, there’s a case to be made to rip the bandage off now, get some easing in the oil markets and hope there’s enough time for voters to turn the page.鈥�
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Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri in New York and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
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