CNN has revealed that two separate diplomatic missions reached the White House last week, exposing a sharp regional divide over the war with Iran as US President Donald Trump faces mounting pressure to end a conflict that continues to expand.
According to the network’s extensive report, a delegation of Saudi officials arrived at the West Wing shortly after 10 am on Wednesday in an unannounced visit. Saudi defense Minister Khalid bin Salman delivered a message from his brother, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
The message stated that Saudi Arabia wanted de-escalation with Iran and warned that prolonging the war carried serious risks, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.
A day earlier, the White House had received another envoy carrying a markedly different message. During a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed scepticism about the prospects of diplomacy with Iran, according to Israeli officials.
The two discussed alternative ways to increase pressure on Tehran, including the possible resumption of a full-scale war.
Although the timing of the two meetings was coincidental, CNN said their proximity illustrated the scale of the challenge facing Trump as he seeks a way out of a conflict that has lasted longer than expected, expanded into new fronts and drawn in most countries across the region.
Direct Negotiations Remain Distant
Diplomatic efforts have continued to stall. A senior US official said the resumption of direct negotiations with Iran was not imminent, despite Trump repeatedly claiming that Tehran was “begging” for an agreement to end the fighting.
Some US officials fear that Iran’s leadership is more determined than ever to use its leverage over the Strait of Hormuz and to continue launching missiles towards US forces.
The report also described growing frustration within the Trump administration over Iran’s refusal to meet the president’s demands. According to US officials, that frustration has led to angry meetings behind closed doors and tense telephone calls with allies.
In an effort to advance the political track, Trump held a Cabinet meeting on Friday at Camp David, a site historically associated with major diplomatic developments in the Middle East.
Asked about his plan to revive the stalled diplomatic process, Trump said only: “I think we just want to win.”
He did not provide further details, adding: “These efforts will weaken. Maybe they will strengthen a little now, then weaken again, and then disappear completely.”
Iranian Threats Force Security Changes
Ongoing Iranian threats have also forced Trump to alter some of his security arrangements, including replacing Air Force One during his return journey from Türkiye earlier this month.
Officials said the move was made amid escalating Iranian threats. Subsequent media coverage of the incident reportedly angered and embarrassed the US president.
Concern is also growing within Trump’s inner circle that a prolonged war with Iran could threaten his presidency and damage Republican prospects in the forthcoming midterm elections, according to several Republican Party figures.
Those concerns were reinforced by a CNN poll conducted this week, which found that only 28 per cent of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of the war.
Amid these pressures, Trump is confronting new options as calls intensify to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Multiple plans to escalate military operations have been presented to him, while additional US forces have been deployed to the region in preparation for possible approval.
US officials said one plan prepared by US Central Command, known as CENTCOM, involved an intensive bombing campaign lasting one or two weeks and aimed at destroying Iran’s missile capabilities.
Asked on Friday whether he intended to pursue a large-scale escalation, Trump said he had already chosen that course.
“We are going to do it on a large scale. We have already done it,” he said.
US Military Warns of Limits to Air Power
During a hearing on Capitol Hill last week, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine acknowledged that aerial bombardment alone would probably not be sufficient to achieve all the objectives Trump had previously declared for the war.
“Air power has its limits,” Caine told lawmakers.
Trump has nevertheless refrained from taking further escalatory steps. This has been partly attributed to his consideration of Caine’s warnings over diminishing interceptor missile stockpiles.
Other officials have expressed concern about the possibility of substantial civilian casualties if threats to target infrastructure, including bridges and desalination plants, are carried out.
Speaking to Fox News this week, Trump said: “Who would I hurt there? I would hurt the people, so I am not seeking that.”
Strait of Hormuz Becomes Central to Crisis
Diplomatic discussions among regional parties are meanwhile focused on a short-term agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to informed sources.
Such an agreement could allow Trump to declare a political achievement.
The strait has become a central issue in the crisis after the United States and Iran offered conflicting interpretations of how it should be addressed under the memorandum of understanding signed last month.
Several Republicans who have supported Trump throughout the conflict are increasingly concerned that rising petrol prices could damage their party in the midterm elections.
According to Republican activists, party figures have privately stressed the importance of reopening the strait.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said this week: “Obviously, we want success there.
“We believe we have achieved a high level of military success in that region. As for the Strait of Hormuz, that is an issue the president and his team continue to negotiate, and we hope they reach an outcome or solution in the near future.”
White House Says Iran Will Continue to ‘Pay the Price’
The White House said Iran would “continue to pay the price” until it agreed to negotiate on terms acceptable to Trump.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement: “The United States signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran, but Iran violated it, fired on commercial vessels and killed American soldiers.
“President Trump will not stand by and allow this terrorist behaviour to occur. Iran will continue to pay the price until it comes to the negotiating table in a way President Trump considers viable and meaningful.”
Regional actors, including Qatar and Pakistan, have continued mediation efforts to revive diplomacy, but sources familiar with the process said there were still few signs that substantive negotiations would resume.
Instead, US officials fear that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has effectively become the dominant force in the country’s decision-making process, reducing the political figures with whom Washington had negotiated to little more than symbolic fronts.
The situation is further complicated by internal competition among senior Revolutionary Guard commanders seeking to expand their influence.
US officials and regional partners view this rivalry as one of the main reasons for concern that the conflict could continue for an extended period.
Trump Questions Who Controls Decisions in Iran
Trump referred to these internal divisions during remarks in the Oval Office this week.
He said Iran’s attempts to target US sites had not been ordered by the people his team was trying to contact.
“It was a different group from the one we are dealing with. They have already apologised,” Trump said.
The US president also complained about the difficulty of identifying who was making decisions inside Iran, while expressing doubts over the possibility of reaching an agreement between Washington and Tehran.
Speaking at Camp David on Friday, Trump said: “People want to talk, but they break their promises again and again. All they do is make me angry. You know, they just make me angry.”
Despite this, Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner remained confident that an agreement could be reached.
During Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu this week, attended by Witkoff and several senior officials, the Israeli occupation prime minister again expressed doubt about the value of diplomacy with Iran, according to Israeli officials familiar with the discussions.
The two sides instead considered several options for intensifying pressure on Iran, including expanded military strikes and economic measures.
An Israeli official who attended the meeting later said: “We are discussing what should be done. There is no ready-made model or textbook solution for this situation.”
Saudi Arabia Delivers De-escalation Message
The following day, Saudi defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman arrived in Washington for a brief visit that had originally been scheduled for the previous week.
He left the US capital immediately after completing his White House meeting.
During the visit, Prince Khalid conveyed Saudi Arabia’s assessment of the conflict and reaffirmed the kingdom’s desire for de-escalation, according to people familiar with the discussion.
His visit came despite new joint US-Saudi operations this week against Iran-backed militias in Iraq.
Sources said the Saudi defence minister told Vice President JD Vance that the kingdom’s military action was intended to send a message that Saudi Arabia would defend itself and that attacks on its civilian infrastructure represented a “red line” that would not go unanswered.
He also delivered a message to Iran’s proxies that the war was not theirs to fight.
The Saudi assessment was that Iran would seek to create leverage through escalation and would continue using allied militias in Iraq and Yemen to achieve that objective.
A source familiar with the conversation said: “The minister’s implicit message was that Netanyahu is the one pushing this escalation, while the kingdom wants to reduce tensions.”
Trump Signals Further Strikes Despite Talk of Settlement
It remained unclear what conclusions Trump drew from the series of meetings.
Hours later, however, he said the expanding conflict, which now involved additional parties including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, would soon move towards a settlement.
Speaking on Wednesday ahead of another night of retaliatory strikes, Trump said: “It is our turn now, and we will see whether we reach an agreement at some point. But we will hit them very hard.”
He added that matters would eventually move in the right direction.
