President Donald Trump is growing increasingly frustrated over the failure to end the war with Iran, as senior administration officials remain divided over whether further military escalation would produce a clear strategic outcome, NBC News reported Thursday.

“The president is exasperated. I don’t think he believed it was going to be this difficult to get the Iranians to agree to a deal,” an unnamed Trump ally told NBC. A U.S. official said the administration had achieved “a series of tactical victories” but was now “facing a strategic defeat without clear policy guidance or a decision about where this is going.” Trump reportedly erupted and yelled expletives during a meeting with his national security team last week.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied that the outburst occurred. “This is false. The president has a great team whom he trusts, and everyone on the team knows he’s the final decision-maker,” she said. Leavitt added that Trump was “locked and loaded to keep punishing Iran” after Tehran allegedly violated the June memorandum of understanding and renewed attacks on U.S. forces and shipping.

NBC reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu support increased military pressure, while Vice President JD Vance and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine have questioned what another major campaign would accomplish. Caine has reportedly warned about the continued depletion of U.S. munitions stockpiles. Netanyahu was not believed to have directly pressed Trump for further escalation during their Washington meeting this week.

Trump maintained a confrontational stance Wednesday after Iran launched missiles toward American forces in Jordan. “We’ll be hitting them hard. They are going to get a beating,” he told Fox News. The prolonged conflict and its impact on gas prices have also increased concern among Republicans ahead of the November midterm elections.