Trump said to tell aides he's willing to end Iran war without reopening Hormuz

Key Points:

• US President Donald Trump reportedly expressed willingness to end the military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, focusing first on degrading Iran’s missile and naval capabilities before pressuring Tehran diplomatically to reopen the waterway.
• The Strait of Hormuz has been largely blocked by Tehran in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks, causing a spike in global energy prices, with the US gasoline average price surpassing $4 per gallon for the first time in over three years.
• Trump claimed “great progress” in negotiations to end the war but warned that failure to reopen the Strait would lead to devastating US strikes on Iran’s infrastructure, while thousands of US troops are being deployed to the region amid preparations for a potential ground operation.
• The US-Israeli targeting and killing of many Iranian leaders has complicated Tehran’s decision-making and negotiation capacity, empowering hardliners like Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who remains combative despite being a negotiation interlocutor.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated the war against Iran has achieved over half its objectives, including degrading Iran’s military and nuclear capabilities, but declined to specify a timeline for the conflict’s end, expressing confidence in the regime’s eventual collapse.