While Pakistan's efforts to bring the parties closer remain fruitless, President Donald Trump admitted to having been updated on military options, in case the negotiations, now turned into indirect contacts, do not prosper. For his part, the Israeli Defense Minister considered it possible that they would "soon" return to Iran, while Tehran warned that it would give a "painful" response to a possible resumption of the attacks.
First modification: 05/01/2026 - 21:05 Last modification: 05/01/2026 - 21:20
"Do we want to go in and just completely wipe them out to wipe them out for good or do we want to try to make a deal? Those are the options."
Standing in the gardens of the White House, before leaving for Florida for a campaign event this Friday, May 1, Donald Trump thus summarized the possibilities that he says he values in the war that he started with Israel against Iran.
While the ceasefire still holds (except in Lebanon, where a separate agreement is constantly violated, mostly by Israel, but also by Hezbollah), Trump admitted to having received an update on military plans, in case the talks do not prosper, as US media had anticipated.
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Although Pakistan continues its mediation - with a lower profile, now limited to passing messages and keeping the contact channel between Washington and Tehran open - the US president was "dissatisfied" with the most recent proposal, which Iran said it had presented this Friday to Islamabad, the details of which have not been revealed.
While acknowledging that, in his opinion, Iran "has made some progress," Trump said he was not sure "that they will ever reach the goal" because "they are asking for things that we cannot accept" and questioned the Iranian leadership because it is "very uncoordinated." "Everyone wants to reach an agreement, but they are in a mess," he said.
Even so, the Republican pointed out that negotiations continue by telephone and that, faced with the possibility of resuming large-scale attacks, "from a human point of view, I would prefer not to do so."
Read alsoTrump says he is not satisfied with Iran's new proposal for possible talks with the US.
The military possibilities that the United States is considering
According to several reports from US media and the Reuters agency, on Thursday, Admiral Brad Cooper, head of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), presented Trump with information on military options for an eventual resumption of the offensive against Iran.
According to a US official told Reuters, in the meeting – which is presumed to have also been attended by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine – Cooper would have proposed alternatives for a series of new attacks to force Iran to negotiate an end to the conflict, a reading that some experts consider erroneous.
In that sense, the media 'Axios' indicated that one possibility would consist of deploying ground forces to take control of part of the Strait of Hormuz – today blocked by both the United States and Iran – and reopen commercial traffic, taking away, under this theory, Tehran's main bargaining chip in the negotiations.
Other options that have emerged are that Israel and the United States accumulate warships to project a sufficiently credible naval threat against Iran, that Washington extends its blockade for longer or that Trump opts for a declaration of unilateral victory.
In any case, the United States has not stopped adding military assets in the Middle East in its desire to show muscle or as a prelude to a possible reactivation of its war. In this regard, Bloomberg reported on Thursday that CENTCOM has requested the delivery of the Dark Eagle hypersonic missile to the region, which, if used against Iran, would mark the first time that Washington has resorted to that technology.
According to that report, the order came after Tehran moved its missile launchers out of the range of the precision missile that the US Army currently uses.
Beyond these deliberations, the truth is that the Trump Administration must also deal with the domestic front.
Although Congress had indicated that this May 1 is the deadline by which the US Government can use the Armed Forces without consulting legislators, a senior White House official, quoted by the AP agency, indicated that, for them, the war is already "over" due to the ceasefire declared at the beginning of April.
That position goes even further than what Pete Hegseth raised on Thursday, in his hearing at the Capitol, when he noted that the 60-day count "was paused or slowed down" by the truce.
In addition to the resistance of some congressmen, especially the Democratic opposition but also disaffected Republicans, the war against Iran faces high levels of disapproval among citizens.
According to a survey published by The Washington Post, ABC and Ipsos this Friday, 61% of those consulted considered the offensive initiated by the United States and Israel against Iran a mistake and less than 20% expressed confidence in the success of the US strategy.
Read alsoTrump defies 60-day deadline for attacks in Iran: the legal battle that redefines war powers
Israel estimates that "soon" it will have to attack Iran again
The possibility that the United States will resume attacks against Iran has put Israel on alert, which from the beginning has been against any diplomatic agreement with Tehran.
According to local Channel 12, Benjamin Netanyahu's government is preparing for the possibility that negotiations between the United States and Iran will collapse as soon as next week, leading to a resumption of joint bombings.
The Israeli media report cited Netanyahu's cabinet ministers, who considered that Washington could intensify its pressure in the Strait of Hormuz through attacks on Iranian energy and gas facilities, or government infrastructure.
Coincidence or not, a senior Israeli military official indicated, under anonymity, to Israeli media this Friday that it is necessary for the United States to manage to remove the more than 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium that Iran has because, otherwise, the war will have been "a great failure."
That source noted that "if the uranium is removed from Iran through diplomatic channels, we will have done our part," but that if that does not happen, Israel would have to launch a new offensive.
His words resonate a day after Defense Minister Israel Katz assured at a military ceremony that, although Israel supports the diplomatic efforts of the United States and Iran "has suffered hard blows over the last year," it is likely that it will "soon" bomb Iran again "to ensure that the objectives are achieved."
Iran, on alert and prepared for a "painful" response
As rumors piled up on Thursday, tensions soared after Iran activated its anti-aircraft defenses last night, although the semi-official Tasnim agency indicated it was a response to "counter small aircraft and reconnaissance drones."
In any case, two senior Iranian officials assured Reuters that Tehran has plans for a broad response if it is attacked and that, according to their assessments, they see a short, intense attack by the United States, followed by bombing by Israel, as possible.
In fact, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Aerospace Force, Majid Mousavi, told Tasnim that any US attack, even if limited, would be met with "prolonged and painful attacks" against US regional positions.
"We have seen what happened to your regional bases; we will see the same with your warships," he warned.
Although Tehran also keeps the diplomatic channel open, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei clarified that quick results should not be expected from these negotiations.
Meanwhile, through Telegram, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi assured that his country is ready to continue through diplomatic channels if the United States changes what he described as "excessive focus, threatening rhetoric and provocative actions."
Similarly, Araqchi stressed that "Iran's armed forces remain prepared to defend the country against any threat."
With Reuters, AP, EFE and media
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