President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, on March 26, 2025. (Credit: Win McNamee/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP)
BEIRUT — The White House is "seriously considering" an Iranian proposal for indirect nuclear talks while ramping up the U.S. military presence in the Middle East, preparing for the possibility that President Donald Trump might order a strike on Iran, two American officials told Axios.
Trump has consistently expressed a preference for a diplomatic resolution but has made it clear he is unwilling to wait indefinitely for a deal, Axios reported. The outlet noted that Trump has previously issued a two-month ultimatum to Iran in a letter, though it remains unclear when the countdown began.
The report also highlights an internal division within the White House: some officials believe a deal with Iran is still possible, while others view negotiations as futile and advocate for military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. Meanwhile, the Pentagon is bolstering the U.S. military presence in the region, ensuring the president has a strike force ready should talks fail.
Stealth bombers
On Tuesday, the Pentagon confirmed it had sent additional troops and aerial assets to the Middle East, including two aircraft carriers — USS Harry S. Truman and USS Carl Vinson — which will remain stationed in the region. Last week, several B-2 stealth bombers were deployed to Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean, an action U.S. officials linked to the two-month deadline Trump set for Iran. The B-2s are capable of carrying massive bunker-busting bombs, a critical asset for any potential military action against Iran’s underground nuclear sites.
"Should Iran or its proxies threaten American personnel and interests in the region, the U.S. will take decisive action to defend our people," Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement cited by Axios.
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated Tehran’s refusal to engage in direct negotiations with the U.S. over its nuclear program. This came in response to a letter from Trump addressing the issue. On the same day, Trump told NBC News that "bombings" would follow if an agreement with Iran could not be reached, sparking outrage in Tehran. The Iranian government warned it would have "no choice" but to defend itself and lodged a formal diplomatic protest through the Swiss embassy, given the absence of direct diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Iran.
During his first term, Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, aiming to secure a more favorable agreement, but Tehran has remained firm in its stance. Despite efforts under President Joe Biden to rejoin the accord, Iran has escalated its uranium enrichment, positioning itself as a nuclear threshold state. Iran insists it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons.
