President Donald Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in the U.S. conflict with Iran as his administration struggles to agree on a strategy for ending the fighting, according to people familiar with internal White House discussions.
NBC News, citing a U.S. official and people close to the talks, reported that Trump “exploded” during a meeting with senior national security officials last week, “yelling expletives” as he expressed anger over the stalemate.
The conflict, which began Feb. 28, has killed 18 U.S. service members. Although American forces have recorded a series of tactical successes, one official warned that the administration risks “facing a strategic defeat without clear policy guidance or a decision about where this is going.”
Trump’s advisers remain divided over whether the United States should focus on dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, reopening oil transit through the Strait of Hormuz or destroying Tehran’s missile and drone capabilities.
“After all this time, there is no unity,” the official said.
Two other people familiar with White House discussions told NBC that Trump has become particularly frustrated with Iran’s refusal to accept an agreement that would end the conflict. Despite the administration’s public confidence, neither Trump nor his senior advisers are satisfied with the current situation, the official said.
“The president is exasperated,” a Trump ally who has discussed the war with him in recent weeks told NBC. “I don’t think he believed it was going to be this difficult to get the Iranians to agree to a deal. There was not a real strategy for how long or what they should do to get to the endpoint.”
“He did not intend this to be a long, drawn-out war,” the ally added.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied the account of Trump’s outburst.
“This is false. The president has a great team whom he trusts, and everyone on the team knows he’s the final decision-maker,” Leavitt told NBC.
“He is not going to stand by as they break the MOU, kill our soldiers and fire at our ships in the strait. So until that behavior changes, his behavior will not change… He’s locked and loaded to keep punishing Iran.”
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the Defense Department was “locked and loaded, ready to execute the president’s directives at a moment’s notice.”
“Secretary Hegseth, CENTCOM Commander Admiral Cooper, and Chairman Caine stand completely aligned and are united in mission, strategy, and resolve regarding overseas operations involving Iran,” Parnell said.
The Wall Street Journal first reported details of Trump’s heated language during the national security meeting. Sources told the newspaper that the president referred to Iranian leaders as “scumbags and lunatics.”
The administration suffered another setback this week when Iran launched a surprise attack several days after Trump temporarily halted U.S. operations, saying the regime “wanted to talk.” Iran’s foreign ministry denied that Tehran was interested in direct negotiations.
Trump threatened Wednesday to escalate the campaign.
“We are going to beat the f–king s–t out of them,” Trump told Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst. “We’ll be hitting them hard. They are going to get a beating.”
U.S. Central Command said American forces conducted another major wave of strikes against Iran on Wednesday night, targeting military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and air-defense positions, and maritime assets.
More than 50,000 U.S. service members are currently deployed across the Middle East.
