President Donald Trump is weighing whether to formally declare an end to the war with Iran, The Wall Street Journal reports, as six months of fighting have placed growing military, political and electoral pressure on his administration.
According to the newspaper, several U.S. officials said Trump had discussed the possibility of declaring an end to the war with senior advisers in private meetings in recent weeks and was broadly receptive to the idea.
The officials said Trump believes continued economic pressure could force Iran to retreat from its nuclear program or even lead to the collapse of its governing structure.
New sanctions seen as an attempt to secure an orderly exit
The report said the U.S. administration announced a new package of sanctions against Iran on Aug. 19. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the measures as an effort to “cut off all of Iran’s financial lifelines.”
U.S. analysts cited in the report view the move as a publicity campaign intended to help Washington secure an orderly exit from the war after setbacks on the battlefield.
Six months into a war billed as “swift and decisive”
The developments come six months after the start of what the report describes as the U.S. war against Iran, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth initially presented as a “swift and decisive operation.”
But U.S. officials said the continuation of hostilities could seriously damage Republican prospects in the November midterm elections.
Military options remain on the table
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump received a range of military options last month, including broader airstrikes, deploying ground forces to seize Iranian islands near the Strait of Hormuz and a possible attack on Mount Karkas.
Senior military commanders, however, have warned that such operations would require a prolonged and extensive U.S. military presence in the region. Given the current strain on the armed forces, they have reportedly assessed the options as impractical and costly.
Air defense units face prolonged deployments
The newspaper said U.S. air defense units responsible for intercepting Iranian missiles and drones are facing extended deployments. Standard nine-month rotations have been lengthened to 12 months, while some units originally scheduled for Europe and the Pacific have remained in the Middle East for more than a year.
Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, warned that the trend could exhaust personnel, delay equipment maintenance and disrupt long-term modernization programs.
Pressure mounts on the U.S. Navy
The U.S. Navy is facing similar strain. Nineteen American warships are currently deployed in the Middle East, including two aircraft carriers and 13 guided-missile destroyers.
Several destroyers deployed at the start of the war have spent months at sea without their usual rest periods, contributing to some of the longest naval deployments in decades.
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford spent 11 months at sea before returning in May, the longest deployment since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The USS Abraham Lincoln is also returning after an extended deployment, while the USS Theodore Roosevelt is preparing for a longer deployment and could be sent to the Middle East.
Logistical problems add to pressure on sailors
According to The Wall Street Journal, fighting in the region has disrupted normal resupply arrangements, forcing ships to rely heavily on the remote Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean.
That dependence has reduced the delivery of letters and care packages to sailors, limited opportunities for rest and created serious maintenance challenges.
Taken together, the report portrays the Trump administration as facing a multilayered crisis involving military readiness, political pressure and logistics. The growing costs of sustaining the war are pushing the president to consider an end to the conflict.
