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[The Public=Reporter Yang Won-mo] U.S. President Donald Trump announced a pause on strikes against Iran, and hours later was briefed by his White House national security team on options for renewed military action.
Axios reported on May 19, citing two U.S. officials, that Trump convened a national security meeting at the White House the previous evening to discuss Iran.
On May 18, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had ordered the military to hold off on striking Iran at the request of Gulf partners. Gulf leaders reportedly feared that an American strike would prompt Tehran to retaliate by targeting energy infrastructure across the Gulf.
The next day at the White House, Trump told reporters the pause was not intended as a long reprieve. He described it as a short, defined window—two or three days, possibly through the coming weekend or into early next week—and warned, “We may have to hit them hard again.” He said military action could resume quickly if negotiations fail to make progress.
According to Axios, the national security meeting that followed the pause announcement included briefings on plans to strike Iran again. Reported attendees included Vice President JD Vance; Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Defense Secretary Pete Hegses; Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Cain; CIA Director John Ratcliffe; and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Axios quoted a close source saying many U.S. officials were surprised by Trump’s decision to pause and remain uncertain about the administration’s overall approach. The source said the president is pressing Iran hard to force progress at the negotiating table.
Separately from the operational pause, the U.S. continued to press Tehran economically. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions targeting Iran’s shadow financial networks, vessels and associated individuals. OFAC also added 19 vessels involved in transporting Iranian oil and petrochemical products to its sanctions list.
The Treasury said the measures are intended to reduce revenue the Iranian regime uses to develop weapons, fund proxy groups, and enrich regime insiders.
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