At the request of the White House, US intelligence is assessing the consequences of a possible unilateral US declaration of an end to the war with Iran, Reuters reported.
Citing two US officials and another source familiar with the matter, the publication specified that US intelligence agencies are analyzing “how Iran would react if US President Donald Trump unilaterally declared victory“.
“The goal, according to sources, is to understand the potential consequences of Trump's possible withdrawal from the conflict, which some US officials and advisers fear could contribute to a significant defeat for Republicans in the midterm elections later this year“, the publication notes.
The US midterm elections will be held in November and many observers are currently predicting a defeat for the ruling Republican Party, mainly due to the highly unpopular operation against Iran and the resulting rise in fuel prices in the country.
According to the agency, Washington has not yet made any decision and the US president may still intensify the military campaign against Iran. However, “rapid de-escalation could reduce political pressure on the president“, even if it strengthens Iran's resolve and allows Tehran to potentially restore its nuclear and missile programs and, if necessary, “threaten US allies in the region“, writes Reuters.
The message also emphasized, citing three unnamed people familiar with the White House discussions on Iran in recent days, that Trump is fully aware of the “political price“ that he and his party are paying for the war with Iran. “A White House official described the internal pressure on the president to end the war as “colossal”, the material says.
According to the information presented, the US government continues to maintain “various military options“ against Iran, including the resumption of strikes against its political leaders and military commanders. The implementation of these “most ambitious“ plans, which also include a ground invasion of Iran, now seems “less likely than it did a few weeks ago“.
During the ceasefire, Iran has managed to recover a significant amount of weapons, including drones and missile launchers, from the ruins of military facilities bombed by the US and Israel in the early weeks of the war, the agency noted. Therefore, the cost of resuming full-scale hostilities for the US and Israel would now be “likely higher“ than in the early days of the ceasefire, which began on April 8.
The CIA declined to answer specific questions from Reuters about Iran. “The CIA is not aware of this preliminary assessment by the intelligence community”, Liz Lyons, the agency's chief spokeswoman at Langley, told the agency. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declined to comment.