Trump Reportedly ‘Leans Toward’ Iran Strike as JD Vance Urges Talks

President Donald Trump is leaning toward authorizing military strikes on the Iranian regime as it continues to brutally repress protesters, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

As Iranians began to flood into the streets earlier this month in protest of the authoritarian theocracy that governs them, Trump issued a threat.

“If Iran shots  and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” declared Trump in a January 2 Truth Social post.

Then on Sunday, the president said, “here seem to be some people killed that aren’t supposed to be killed. These are violent, if you call them leaders, I don’t know if they’re leaders or just they rule through violence, but we’re looking at it very seriously. The military is looking at it and we’re looking at some very strong options. We’ll make a determination.”

The Iranian regime’s clampdown has left, at the very least, well over 500 civilians confirmed dead and thousands arrested. Some estimates indicate that thousands have been killed.

The Journal reported on the most recent developments and discussions within the Trump administration on Monday:

The White House is weighing a last-ditch Iranian offer to engage in diplomacy over curbing its nuclear program even as President Trump currently leans toward authorizing fresh military strikes on Iran, U.S. officials say.

Some senior administration aides, led by Vice President JD Vance, are urging Trump to try diplomacy before retaliating against Iran for killing protesters during a two-week uprising over a flailing economy and regime repression, the officials said.

…

Trump hasn’t made a final decision on what he will do, according to officials, and will meet with senior aides Tuesday to determine his approach. The options could include ordering military strikes on regime sites or launching cyberattacks, approving new sanctions and boosting antiregime accounts online. Some officials have voiced concerns that U.S. military strikes could fuel the regime’s propaganda that the U.S. and Israel are secretly orchestrating the protests.

“Trump currently favors attacking Iran, officials said, but could change his mind depending on developments in the country and discussions with aides,” continued the Journal story, which noted that “Vance, while generally resistant to engaging in conflicts, remains open to striking Iran, according to a person familiar with his thinking, believing the country is a threat to the U.S.”

“Vance was initially skeptical of bombing Iran during discussions last June before Trump ordered attacks on the Iranian nuclear sites of Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan,” it added.

The vice president also expressed his qualms about Trump’s decision to strike Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in the leaked Signal chat that The Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg reported on earlier this year.

“I think we are making a mistake,” said Vance at the time. “I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now.”