Axios: Trump is considering three different approaches to Iran Axios, citing American sources, claimed that Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio advised Trump to continue the campaign of economic pressure on Iran. Informed sources, who were not named, told this website that Ratcliffe told Trump that "long-term economic suffering" would force the Iranian government to make more concessions or create enough instability within the country for people to revolt. The second approach, proposed by J. Dee Vance, Trump's deputy and Steve Witkoff, his special representative for West Asian affairs, are proposing a diplomatic deal with Iran and warning that a renewed military adventure may not help improve the situation. Most of the Persian Gulf countries support this approach. The third approach was also proposed by the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the US Secretary of War, Pete Heggest, and calls for the renewal of military operations against Iran on the grounds that Iran cannot be trusted to negotiate or adhere to the agreement.