'Few options remain' for Trump as advisor says he’s 'just trying to hang on'

Sarah K. Burris
7h

U.S. President Donald Trump reacts as he speaks to the media on the day of a NATO leaders' summit in Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026. REUTERS Umit Bektas

President Donald Trump's new strategy on Iran is the same as the old strategy: sanctions and financial isolation.

According to Jonathan Lemire and Nancy A. Youssef, writing for The Atlantic, Republicans think that they can push the conflict out of voters' minds until the election passes.

"In some ways, it’s not an original idea," the writers explained. "Trump has relied on an economic 'maximum pressure' campaign since his first term to try to force Iran to abandon its nuclear program. But the intelligence community was mistaken in its belief that Iran would buckle quickly under the financial strain."

There are "few options remaining," the report explained, and it could be a "lengthy" one.

That could be tricky, however, if Trump refuses to enforce sanctions on Iran from its biggest buyers like China and Russia. Answering questions about the sanctions this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent refused to say whether Trump would pressure China to agree to impose sanctions on Iran.

The column made the argument that it's the only way that Trump can make it appear as if they're "trying something and then — importantly — to stop talking about the war."

Trump advisors and allies told the reporters that the second part of the plan is to simply hope that gas prices come down, even if it's just a little bit. Then the GOP can pivot away from the affordability crisis.

“We’re just trying to hang on until the midterms,” said a Trump adviser.

"Republicans have been urging the White House to wrap up the conflict and reduce its drag on the nation’s economy — and their reelection chances. But a solution has proved elusive," the report said.

Trump's overall goal is to make it through the election and simply get Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. Then he is inclined to simply declare victory and move on to target Cuba. The reporters explained, “Trump has been bored of the war for a while.”

His staff has been pressing him to talk about the economic crisis in an effort to "help Republican candidates, but he has continued to downplay the nation’s affordability challenges, much to his aides’ chagrin."

Republicans need the new sanctions effort to bring Iran back to the table before November, "then maybe a renewed stab at diplomacy could juice the markets — and provide an 11th-hour boost for Republicans."

But Iran is well aware that Trump is in trouble over the 2026 elections. The Guardian's diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour reported earlier in August that Iran intends to keep Trump entangled through the November election.

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