An Axios report today describes what seems be an active debate on Iran policy within the administration. President Trump convened a meeting in the White House on Monday, April 14 among his top cabinet members. In favor of diplomacy, even to the point of making compromises to reach a deal with Iran, are J.D. Vance, Steve Witkoff, and Pete Hegseth. That faction is “unofficially led” by Vance, their sources report, who, they claim, is highly involved in the Iran policy discussions. On the other side is Rubio and Waltz, who take the line that Iran can’t be trusted and support the maximum pressure campaign.
Interestingly, the Axios report also quotes an unnamed official as saying that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have dramatically different views on how to deal with Iran, and that Netanyahu’s visit to Washington last week was truly an embarrassment for him. “The President kind of relished sticking it to him [Netanyahu] on Iran. The same dynamic you saw in public is what happened in private,” the official said, referring to the press conference with the two leaders. “Trump and Bibi see things very differently on the issue of a military strike in Iran.” Some in the “deal camp” also see Netanyahu’s insistence that Iran must eliminate its entire nuclear program under any deal as unrealistic.
