President Donald Trump briefly contemplated stepping away from diplomatic talks with Iran after a series of confrontations in the Persian Gulf that U.S. officials characterized as “aggressive,” according to a report published Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal citing senior American officials.

Despite the tensions, the discussions planned for later this week are still expected to move forward. The report did not specify what factors ultimately led Trump to allow the negotiations to continue.

Among the incidents cited was an episode in which Iran launched a drone that was intercepted and destroyed by a U.S. Navy fighter jet as it neared the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.

That encounter took place just hours after Iranian forces allegedly harassed a U.S.-flagged merchant ship crewed by Americans as it transited the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the report, the drone involved was a Shahed-139, which was downed by an F-35C fighter launched from the Lincoln while the carrier was operating roughly 500 miles off Iran’s southern coastline. No U.S. service members were injured, and American military hardware was not damaged.

Even with those developments, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration still intends to proceed with talks between special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian representatives. “President Trump is always wanting to pursue diplomacy first, but obviously it takes two to tango,” she said. “As always, though, of course, the president has a range of options on the table with respect to Iran.”

Trump also addressed the matter directly on Tuesday, confirming that negotiations with Iran are underway while declining to disclose the location of the talks.

“They are negotiating. They’d like to do something, and we’ll see if something is going to be done,” Trump said.

Reflecting on earlier dealings with Tehran, he added, “They had a chance to do something a while ago, and it didn’t work out. And we did Midnight Hammer. I don’t think they want that happening again,” referring to U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last June. “But they would like to negotiate. We are negotiating with them right now, yes.”

When pressed on where the upcoming meeting would take place, Trump responded simply, “I can’t tell you that.”

{Matzav.com}