The New York Times (NYT) has outlined three possible scenarios for the US-Iran conflict that have been discussed at the highest level, reports infohub.kz.
According to the newspaper, these options have been considered in recent weeks in meetings involving Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
US President Donald Trump is currently weighing three courses of action in the Middle East: military escalation, economic pressure on Iran, and declaring victory and withdrawing US forces from the region. However, the NYT notes that each of these scenarios is "unacceptable for different reasons."
In particular, a US withdrawal from the region risks accelerating Iran’s nuclear program and does not address the root cause of the conflict. Additionally, NYT sources said Trump’s advisers doubt that massive bombings would force Tehran back to the negotiating table. Such strikes could cause massive civilian casualties and widespread famine among Iranians, whom the US president once promised to protect from their government.
For context, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson has meanwhile stated that talks between Washington and Tehran are ongoing through intermediaries.