Trump swung between war and diplomacy — then chose a third way

When Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his G7 counterparts in Paris on Tuesday, he told them that President Trump had considered resuming the war with Iran or cutting a deal — but chose a third option: strangling the Iranian regime, three people who attended the meeting told Axios. Why it matters: The Iran war has become a political albatross in Trump's second term, costing Republicans dearly in the midterms. For months, the president has alternated between threatening to obliterate Iran and predicting it will capitulate and give him the deal he wants. "He's been searching for the solution, but he wasn't sure what's the best way to go," a U.S. official close to Trump said. This debate over which course to follow has led to strife between several factions within the top echelon of the administration. Each faction had the support of U.S. allies in the Middle East — namely Israel favoring renewed strikes and most Gulf countries opposing them. Driving the news: After meeting with the Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Monday, Trump said that a new round of strikes against Iran is "quite unlikely" and "doesn't seem to be necessary." Trump said he instead favors continuing the economic crackdown and naval blockade against Iran, in addition to a new operation dubbed "Iron Gate" to cut off land routes that Iran uses to move advanced weaponry and other technology. Behind the scenes: Rubio explained the U.S. Iran policy in a closed meeting on Tuesday with the foreign ministers of the G7 countries in Paris. "The President doesn't just have two options. It's not just return to war or sign a ridiculous peace deal.  We won't do a stupid deal. The third option we have is to continue to do what we do now," Rubio said, according to three people in the room. Rubio went on to say that the U.S. is imposing devastating costs on Iran's economy, making it harder for it to fund terrorist organizations or rebuild its military. And there's no end date. "T