Trump wary of drawing US into war with Iran ahead of 2020 re-election

President Donald Trump is wary of drawing the US into a war with Iran, in part out of concern that an armed conflict with the Islamic Republic would imperil his chances at winning a second term, according to people familiar with the matter.

There is division within the administration over the approach to Iran, some of the people said. At the same time, the president is cognizant that he was elected in part on promises to withdraw the US from Middle East wars -- not start new ones, they said.

Privately, Trump has said he doesn’t want war with Iran, one person familiar with the matter said. “I hope not,” Trump told reporters on Thursday when asked about the prospect of war before a meeting with Swiss President Ueli Maurer.

National Security Adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo have recently warned Iran against provocations in increasingly bellicose language, raising concerns in Congress and among some Trump advisers that the president is preparing for war.

Since withdrawing from the 2015 agreement that curbed Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Trump has steadily ratcheted up US tensions with Tehran. But Republican strategists said he can’t be seen as a warmonger in a re-election match-up with Democrats such as former Vice President Joe Biden or Senator Bernie Sanders.

“He can’t be out there being the guy advocating for military involvement when for so long his brand has been going in the opposite direction,” said Lanhee Chen, a fellow at the conservative Hoover Institute who previously advised Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio.