President Donald Trump has received back-to-back messages from Saudi Arabia and Israel as he weighs how to step back from a widening conflict with Iran, US and regional officials said, with diplomacy stalled and military options still on the table.

Saudi Arabia Warns Against Prolonging The Conflict

On Wednesday just after 10am, a delegation from Saudi Arabia arrived at the White House carrying a warning to Trump and Vice President JD Vance, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The visit, led by Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman—on an unannounced trip to Washington—conveyed a message from his brother, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, urging de-escalation. The Saudi assessment was that continuing the war would carry major risks, the sources said.

Diplomatic pressure on Trump comes as internal and electoral concerns grow among Republicans. US officials said direct talks with Iran do not appear imminent, and while Trump has argued Iran is eager for an arrangement, others in the administration believe Tehran’s leadership is more focused on maintaining leverage over the Strait of Hormuz and sustaining strikes against American forces.

Israel Seeks Pressure, Not Diplomacy

The Saudi message followed an earlier meeting at the White House, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed Iran with Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday.

Israeli officials said Netanyahu voiced scepticism that diplomacy would succeed, and instead focused on ways to pressure Iran. That discussion included possible escalatory steps, including renewing a wider war effort.

The meetings were scheduled independently, officials said, but the close timing highlighted competing currents facing Trump as he looks for an exit from a conflict that has passed the point he had set.

The administration has also signalled frustration with Tehran’s position. US officials said Trump has grown angry at what he sees as reluctance from Iran to meet his demands, leading to tense internal conversations and sharp calls with allies.

Strait Of Hormuz Deal Seen As The Nearest Path

While regional intermediaries, including Qatar and Pakistan, have worked to revive talks, officials said there has been little sign of active negotiation. Instead, attention has shifted to a short-term arrangement aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a focus of contention after the US and Iran gave different interpretations of an agreement reached last month.

Republican lawmakers have increasingly pressed for progress that could translate into political and economic relief ahead of midterm elections. Some party figures have privately stressed the importance of restoring the shipping route, amid concerns that higher gas prices could hurt their prospects.

The White House said Iran will continue to “pay” until it returns to talks in a way Trump considers meaningful. In a statement, Trump’s press secretary said the US had entered a memorandum of understanding with Iran that Tehran broke, adding that Iran attacked commercial ships and killed American soldiers.

Escalation Plans Face Limits

US officials said military assets have continued to flow to the region while Trump weighs options. One planning concept discussed within Central Command would involve heavy bombardment over one or two weeks to target Iran’s missile capabilities.

At a hearing on Capitol Hill last week, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, said air strikes alone have limitations. US officials also said Trump has held back, after concerns from military leadership about shrinking stocks of air defence interceptors and risks of civilian casualties if infrastructure sites—such as bridges or water desalination facilities—were targeted.

Trump has previously argued that he does not want to harm non-combatants, and he has altered aspects of his own travel plans amid perceived threats, including changing aircraft on his return from Turkey earlier this month.

Fear Iran’s Decision-Making Is Controlled Internally

Officials said fears are growing that Iran’s decision-making may be driven less by political leaders and more by the powerful Revolutionary Guards, with regional negotiations therefore less effective than expected. Within the IRGC, senior commanders are competing for control, a dynamic US officials and partners say could prolong the conflict.

Trump has also suggested that strikes against US positions may not have come from the same group his team is trying to engage, pointing to earlier messages and alleged apologies. However, his aides Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have said they believe a deal remains possible.

During Netanyahu’s visit, Israeli officials said the prime minister attempted to reinforce that Trump remains the ultimate decision-maker, while discussing ways to increase pressure on Iran. Netanyahu told Trump the US president would have final authority, according to one official familiar with the meeting.

The Saudi minister’s message likewise reflected Riyadh’s view of the conflict. Saudi Arabia has continued joint operations with the US against Iran-backed militias in Iraq, the sources said, while still calling for de-escalation and warning that attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure would not go unanswered. Saudi officials said they believe Iran is seeking leverage through escalation and by using proxies in Iraq and Yemen.

What Trump takes from the competing briefings was not clear. Hours after Wednesday’s meeting, he said the broader conflict would eventually be “straightened out”, while also signalling that the US would continue retaliatory strikes as talks develop.

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1 August 2026

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4 hours ago, webfact said:

what he sees as reluctance from Iran to meet his demands

Why should Iran give in?

Attacked by a lunatic they have the right to fight back.

November elections are ante portas.

Hold on

In other words, “conflicting messages “ is code for, we ***up and we’re ***up even more! Sorry world.

He's a lying, narcissistic bully with no plan B, no idea, no brains and no friends outside his inner circle of sycophants.

And now he is an obvious loser for the whole world to see.

Bi bi is out for more bloodshed plain and simple. All he’s looking for is death and destruction. I would speculate that Trump has had enough of his ideas after letting himself get talked into a war in the first place.

Regionally I think most countries would want de escalation and an end to the conflict. Iran can be stopped from having a nuclear weapon, if indeed they ever wanted one, by other means that destroying the whole country and ruining the world economy.

But will Trump be willing to be seen to back down? He does back down, a lot, but always under the guise of claiming a victory. How can he do that in the middle of this mess he created?

Take the Saudis advice, de-escalate, and get out ASAP.

Tell the Israeli freak leader that we are no longer going to take advice from them, we are no longer going to support them, they have become a pariah state, their influence is waning, they have lost all respect and prestige, and they are despised throughout the planet.

This war was a huge mistake, and going into this war without a plan shows the cost of ignorance, hubris and chest thumping by moronic leaders, who do not possess a nanogram of wisdom, and absolutely, utterly refuse to learn from history.

Trump must resign immediately and admit his successive failures as a leader.

Iran is trying to fight a Psychological War against Trump....

Chat: You can’t do psychology on something that has no brain or mind

Checkmate! 😄

king me!

Edited August 1Aug 1 by SiSePuede419
King Me Me Me

1 hour ago, wensiensheng said:

But will Trump be willing to be seen to back down? He does back down, a lot, but always under the guise of claiming a victory. How can he do that in the middle of this mess he created?

He already claimed victory on march 11th.

I don't believe that he really will send boots on the ground.

https://www.c-span.org/clip/white-house-event/president-trump-says-weve-won-iran-war/5196219

Arabs never had balls to engage any war seriously otherwise Houthis or Israel wouldn’t be there. They mostly relied on the U.S.. 😂 saddam was the only one, but he eliminated due to causing problems in the region.

Edited August 1Aug 1 by OneManShow

It looks like Trump and Netanyahu have agreed largest strikes yet, to bombard multiple Iranian power generation and energy facilities this weekend.

More market manipulation?

Iran has threatened to respond in kind in all Gulf Coast Countries, plus destroy undersea internet cables crossing the Strait

Might be a good idea to transfer any planned funds before it starts and the internet goes down.

Edited August 1Aug 1 by phetphet

There was a piece of news the other day that when a major circus was passing through town, one of their main attraction, a clown by name of Trump has managed to slip away and he's on the run now,

can anyone find rhyme or reason to his babblings? any coherent explanation as to what he's saying and

doing other than that he's clowning around.

“Arabs never had balls to engage any war seriously otherwise Houthis or Israel wouldn’t be there.”

You do realize that Iranians are not Arabs?

5% charge remaining. 😃

please charge battery soon

3 hours ago, SiSePuede419 said:

5% charge remaining. 😃

please charge battery soon

Best to just let the charge run out. A total shutdown.

7 hours ago, newbee2022 said:

Why should Iran give in?

Attacked by a lunatic they have the right to fight back.

November elections are ante portas.

Hold on

They have as much right to fight back as Ukraine does to fight back against Russia. And for exactly the same reasons.

2 minutes ago, BusyB said:

They have as much right to fight back as Ukraine does to fight back against Russia. And for exactly the same reasons.

That's what I said.

Ukraine is supported by some Western countries, Iran is supported by at least Russia and China, probably others as well.

So again a kind of proxy war, as US likes sooo much.

3 minutes ago, newbee2022 said:

That's what I said.

Ukraine is supported by some Western countries, Iran is supported by at least Russia and China, probably others as well.

So again a kind of proxy war, as US likes sooo much.

And both countries have been attacked by murderous hegemons..

Just curious.Have the seppo's ever won a war? They seem to have started many but never finished them

4 minutes ago, lavender19 said:

Just curious.Have the seppo's ever won a war? They seem to have started many but never finished them

Grenada

7 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Grenada

When you combine the fact that the US has not won a war of any consequence, since World War II, with the fact that no war has ever been won without boots on the ground since World War I, those numbers weigh pretty poorly in the favor of America.

This war has already been lost, America has already been beaten and humiliated, Trump has already been made to look like even more of a street trash goon than he already was, and US influence is diminishing by the day, worldwide.

Goodbye Don, you're on your way out you, don't know it yet but you're digging your own grave, and you're shooting yourself in the foot daily.

4 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

When you combine the fact that the US has not won a war of any consequence, since World War II, with the fact that no war has ever been won without boots on the ground since World War I, those numbers weigh pretty poorly in the favor of America.

This war has already been lost, America has already been beaten and humiliated, Trump has already been made to look like even more of a street trash goon than he already was, and US influence is diminishing by the day, worldwide.

Goodbye Don, you're on your way out you, don't know it yet but you're digging your own grave, and you're shooting yourself in the foot daily.

The real horror is his replacement now they've got all their Project Putin 2025 ducks in a row and the 'checks and balances' have been conclusively destroyed.

Trump is but a symptom. And at least 77 million also have the disease.

Israel already backed out of the useless war leaving the US to fight on or withdraw. And of course, Trump made the wrong decision, as usual. Warring for what, exactly, at this point. He could have easily declared victory at the first ceasefire, taken his marbles and gone home. Not Trump, he hasn’t many marbles.

Israel wants a wider war (surprise!) but expects the US to fight it. Qatar would be a great host for negotiations. US negotiators could chat with the Hamas leadership in refuge there, esp if Iran doesn’t show up. 

38 minutes ago, lavender19 said:

Just curious.Have the seppo's ever won a war? They seem to have started many but never finished t

11 hours ago, newbee2022 said:

Why should Iran give in?

Attacked by a lunatic they have the right to fight back.

November elections are ante portas.

Hold on

One can also look at those who have run Iran for 47 years are also lunatics!

8 hours ago, dxrdxr said:

“Arabs never had balls to engage any war seriously otherwise Houthis or Israel wouldn’t be there.”

You do realize that Iranians are not Arabs?

I was told this the people are Persians but are those in charge 47 years Persians?

Edited August 1Aug 1 by thailand49

10 hours ago, wmorris61 said:

He's a lying, narcissistic bully with no plan B, no idea, no brains and no friends outside his inner circle of sycophants.

And now he is an obvious loser for the whole world to see.

Replay his big campaign events as he bellowed over and over about no more endlesss wars as his MAGA cult cheers. Not only did he start a stupid war he has now managed to roll his "excursion" into a major mid east "conflict" that may well go on for decades and end with a few nukes flying.

BiBi tried to sell the attack Iran idea to bush obama and biden and all three actually listened to their military experts who obviously clearly laid out a myriad of reasons as to why you would not want to do that..but then the great deal maker who knows more about everything than everybody got conned by BiBi and kicked the hornets nest. And Maga cheers.

Trump want to be the first leader in history to win a war by endlessly tweeting , threats and muscle flexing,

so far, he's the only one who believes in what he's saying and doing, all the rest have wakened up to his

idle clowning around.

13 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

When you combine the fact that the US has not won a war of any consequence, since World War II, with the fact that no war has ever been won without boots on the ground since World War I, those numbers weigh pretty poorly in the favor of America.

This war has already been lost, America has already been beaten and humiliated, Trump has already been made to look like even more of a street trash goon than he already was, and US influence is diminishing by the day, worldwide.

Goodbye Don, you're on your way out you, don't know it yet but you're digging your own grave, and you're shooting yourself in the foot daily.

To be fair, I would say that the US “won” the first Gulf War (under the first Bush), in that we met our objective, which was to eject the Iraqis from Kuwait. The Korean War was perhaps a draw, as it ended pretty much with circumstances the same as before (technically, that war is still ongoing).

 

Otherwise -- yeah, one stupid, senseless “adventure” after another!

11 hours ago, thailand49 said:

I was told this the people are Persians but are those in charge 47 years Persians?

Not sure what you’re asking (??) The Persians have lived in, and governed, the area that is today Iran continuously for roughly 3,000 years. Persia was invaded by Alexander the Great (4th century BC), the Rashidun Caliphate (7th century AD), and Genghis Khan (13th century AD), but fully recovered each time.

Whatever the dynamics of the Trump/Netanyahu relationship are, the deplorable influence on US foreign policy of this coalition of Jewish organizations "trumps" them all.

On 8/1/2026 at 9:56 AM, SiSePuede419 said:

Iran is trying to fight a Psychological War against Trump....

Chat: You can’t do psychology on something that has no brain or mind

Checkmate! 😄

king me!

Pretty easy to win a psychological war against a junkyard dog. Flexibility and the ability to improvise and pivot is not within his ability. Bomb baby bomb is his only game and it will fail, just like virtually everything else the man attempts.