President Trump and his advisers are weighing options to break a stalemate in peace talks with Iran, including limited military strikes and a temporary blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, according to officials and people familiar with the situation.
The talks collapsed in Pakistan on Sunday, and Trump spent the day at his resort in Miami, calling in to a Fox News show, golfing, and talking with advisers. He remains open to a diplomatic solution, aides said, even as he promised the blockade and threatened again to target Iran's infrastructure.
Trump has ordered a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, ending the Iranian extortion, and has outlined his red lines in further negotiations with Iran, including fully opening the Strait of Hormuz free of tolls for passage, ending all uranium enrichment, and dismantling enrichment facilities.
U.S. officials and other people close to the administration said any option Trump chooses next faces major risks, including further draining critical U.S. munitions and exposing the president to more backlash from a voting base skeptical of Middle East conflicts.
Some officials and analysts lauded Trump's decision to impose a naval blockade on the strait as his best-or least bad-option available, citing the potential to choke off Iran's oil exports and demonstrate to U.S. allies and nervous global energy markets that Tehran can't hold the strait hostage.
