Trump faces mounting domestic and international pressure to end Iran war, analysts say

US President Donald Trump is under mounting economic and political pressure to end the war with Iran as fuel prices surge and domestic criticism intensifies, analysts said, with a planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week adding to the urgency.

“Trump does seem eager to end the war with Iran, but he faces major constraints to do so,” Evan Cooper, a research analyst in the Reimagining US Grand Strategy Program at the Stimson Center, told Anadolu. Cooper said Trump is under pressure domestically not to appear weak by making major concessions to Iran, particularly regarding Tehran’s influence over the Strait of Hormuz or the future of its nuclear program.

Fox News reported Wednesday that Trump believes a potential agreement with Iran could be finalized within “a week.” Yet the following day, Iran and Israel exchanged fire near the Strait of Hormuz, underlining the fragility of any diplomatic progress.

Jack Clayton, a US foreign policy analyst, said Trump’s negotiating style has complicated de-escalation. “Whilst negotiations can often start with excessive demands to climb down to terms that remain acceptable, Trump’s dogmatism has contributed to the war starting in the first place and risks resuming it if there aren’t compromises reached by both sides,” he said.

The war has severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a corridor that handles roughly 20% of global oil shipments, triggering fuel price spikes. Fuel prices in the US have risen by around 50% since the war began, increasing pressure on American consumers.

A Washington Post-ABC-Ipsos poll released in late April found that 61% of respondents believed US military involvement in Iran was a mistake, while 44% said they had cut back on driving because of rising fuel costs. The same poll found Trump’s disapproval rating has climbed to 62%, the highest level across his two presidential terms.

The conflict has drawn criticism from prominent conservative figures including Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, who have accused Trump of abandoning his pledge to avoid costly foreign wars.

Trump abruptly halted a US military plan this week to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz after Saudi Arabia refused to allow American warplanes to use its airspace or military bases for the operation. “The Saudis sent a strong message of their displeasure of how the conflict is being managed by refusing base access,” Cooper said.

Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week. “Trump would like the summit to be squarely focused on trade and finding ways to bolster the US economy, including by easing the trade war,” Cooper said.

Cooper noted growing anxiety within Republican circles over how the war’s fallout could affect vulnerable congressional races. “If we see some Republicans in close races start to condemn the war with Iran, we will know that they feel like they are out of choices and need to save themselves by criticizing Trump,” he said.