'More compromises': Trump wants an end to Iran war

President Donald Trump is eager to negotiate an end to the Iran war as evidenced by his announcement on Thursday of a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

Even as Washington and Tehran remain far apart, Trump’s offer to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House is the latest example of how the American goal posts have moved in just the last several days.

Last week, the president referred to Israel’s attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon as a “separate skirmish” and insisted that it wasn’t part of the ceasefire deal with Tehran. But in pushing Netanyahu to halt a punishing bombing campaign, Trump has removed a potential deal-breaker for Iran from the equation.
After negotiations last weekend in Pakistan yielded no breakthrough, Trump — facing rising consumer costs and sinking poll numbers — may be more amenable to at least some of Tehran’s demands than his public stance would suggest.

“I think he would accept more compromises because he badly wants this to end,” said a senior Gulf official familiar with the peace talks and granted anonymity to discuss them. Trump “is serious about talks and badly wants this to end, but the Iranians are so far refusing to give him what he needs to save face and leave.”