Internal pressure builds as Trump resists calls for military option amid slow-moving nuclear talks
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A group of influential neoconservatives close to President Donald Trump is reportedly working behind the scenes to derail a potential nuclear deal with Iran, instead urging the White House to back an Israeli military strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities, Politico reported Tuesday.
According to unnamed sources familiar with the matter—including a senior intelligence official and a longtime Trump ally—figures such as conservative radio host Mark Levin and GOP megadonor Ike Perlmutter are pushing Trump to abandon negotiations in favor of a more confrontational approach. These efforts come as nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran stall over key issues, including uranium enrichment.
Tehran has remained committed to maintaining at least civilian-grade uranium enrichment, while Trump has firmly stated that no deal would permit Iran to enrich uranium at all.
“They’re trying to push the president to make a decision that’s not what he wants,” a senior administration official told Politico. “There’s clearly a lobby for war with Iran vs. those who are more aligned with the president, that know he is the one that has been able to bring them to the negotiating table.”
Much of the criticism has focused on U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who is scheduled to meet with Iranian officials again later this week. Some of Trump’s inner circle have grown suspicious of Rupert Murdoch’s media outlets, believing they are deliberately undermining Witkoff’s efforts to broker an agreement.
“Levin and Murdoch are all over Trump all the time — I actually think they hurt their case because I know Trump,” a longtime confidant told Politico. “Once he’s kind of made his mind up, you can come at it later from a different angle, but you keep pressing, he digs in.”
According to the same report, Murdoch has privately voiced dissatisfaction with Witkoff’s role in the negotiations. Yet insiders say Trump remains confident in Witkoff, though his final stance on Iran may still shift depending on who has his ear.
“[Trump is] very solid in what he wants and letting Witkoff do his thing,” one source told Politico. “But depending on who he hears from, he may move a little bit.”
In a post to X, Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson accused Levin of pushing the U.S. toward another Middle Eastern war. “Levin is once again hyperventilating about weapons of mass destruction,” Carlson wrote, alleging the true aim is regime change and the deployment of young Americans to topple Iran’s government.
According to the IAEA, Iran could be capable of producing a nuclear weapon in as little as three weeks, given its current stockpile of weapons-grade 60% enriched uranium. In February, the agency stated Iran had accumulated enough material to raise alarm. A confidential IAEA report reviewed by Reuters in May confirmed the nation now holds over 408.6 kg of such uranium.
As negotiations grind on, pressure is reportedly mounting from Israeli officials, who are lobbying the Trump administration to authorize a strike against Iran’s nuclear sites. One veteran Trump ally told Politico that this push has caused tension between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The president is not going to support war… But I’m telling you, these guys won’t take no for an answer,” the source said. “This is why there’s a breach in the Bibi-President Trump relationship. … Israel isn’t reading the room. The MAGA movement doesn’t support military operations.”