Divisions have deepened within the U.S. administration over how the conflict with Iran should proceed. Vice President JD Vance is pushing for a negotiated solution, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), Brad Cooper, favor resuming military action.
According to The Wall Street Journal, citing sources close to the U.S. administration, the differences among officials have become more apparent since the midterm elections in the United States.
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At the same time, the United States has carried out another strike against Iran. Two missiles have struck Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf.
Over the past two weeks, JD Vance has held indirect talks with Iran aimed at securing a new ceasefire agreement and resuming dialogue over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Axios, citing people familiar with the discussions, reports that Vance is in almost daily contact with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan. According to those sources, a technical meeting between U.S. and Iranian representatives is being considered for the coming days.
The vice president’s personal involvement in the process is seen as a sign of his effort to find a diplomatic solution and end the conflict.
U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged that the United States struck Iran but described the operation as limited.
“I don’t want to talk about it. We carried out a small strike in Iran. They had built a small anti-aircraft device, and we disabled it within 15 minutes, maybe even five,” Trump said when asked whether the United States was responsible for the strike on Qeshm Island.
Meanwhile, The New York Times, citing its own sources, reports that thousands of U.S. troops, aircraft and naval vessels have been placed on alert for a possible resumption of large-scale military operations against Iran.
U.S. forces are aboard more than a dozen ships and at military bases in the region and in the United States. According to reports, these units are awaiting the president’s authorization to launch new missions.
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has called on Democrats to block funding for the U.S. war against Iran in the next Congress. In an interview with CNN, he said passing resolutions was not enough to stop the conflict and that its funding must be cut off.
“We don’t stop this war just by passing resolutions, but by cutting off its funding. That’s how it’s done,” Sanders said.
He described the conflict as “illegal” and “unconstitutional” and claimed that the war had killed 19 U.S. service members and thousands of men, women and children in Iran and neighboring countries. Sanders also stressed that its cost had reached hundreds of billions of dollars.
In a social media post, the senator said American voters had sent a clear message in the midterm elections: the conflict must end.
While diplomatic channels remain active, the U.S. military presence on alert and divisions within the Trump administration leave it unclear what decision Washington will make in the coming days.
