Trump weighs declaring war on Iran over as Pentagon extends troop deployment: Report

Washington, DC: Seven months into the Iran war, US President Donald Trump is privately weighing a declaration that the war is over, even while the Pentagon lengthens troop deployments in West Asia, pointing to the possibility that the tensions may continue into next year, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The report appeared as a new wave of strikes took place between the US and Iran on Tuesday. The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) stated on Wednesday that it had conducted strikes against multiple sites inside Iran. Tehran replied by hitting US-linked facilities across the Gulf. Iranian officials stated that 18 people died and 142 others were wounded in the most recent US strikes.According to the WSJ, Trump has spoken with senior aides about “whether to declare the Iran war over," a course he privately backs, especially with mid-term elections nearing and energy prices climbing because of the war.The president takes the position that Iran will in time dismantle its nuclear programme under severe economic strain. The development followed the US start last week of Operation Economic Outcast, designed to hit Tehran’s principal economic supports such as oil, shipping, aviation and digital assets.Even as Trump presses for an end to the Iran war, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is quietly lengthening troop deployment in West Asia, “in a sign that the conflict could drag well into next year", the Wall Street Journal reported.The decision is meant to leave the president with “options in the war", the outlet reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.As the latest exchanges unfolded between the US and Iran, Washington guided 40 commercial ships through the key waterway on Tuesday, two US officials told CNN.The figure for vessels protected in one operation stood as the highest so far in the ongoing war, they said.US forces also hit nearly 60 Iranian military sites around the Strait of Hormuz. Targets covered air defence installations, radar systems, maritime infrastructure, mine-laying facilities and communications networks.