Will Putin Help Lead Trump Out of Iran Quagmire?

March 12—Sources close to the White House say that President Donald Trump is now seeking an exit strategy from what is becoming a disastrous military adventure in Iran after accepting the sober estimates of his intelligence chiefs that regime change is impossible.

Meanwhile, sources report that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have offered Trump a way to step out of this quagmire and move toward regional peace.

Intelligence Reports: Iranian Regime Remains Intact

Trump is now in possession of intelligence reports from the CIA and other sources that say Iran's leadership is largely intact and is in no risk of collapse, and may not even be toppled if the U.S. put boots on the ground to battle the well-trained and still heavily armed forces of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which remain totally loyal to the mullahs. The reports also say that there is no evidence of the Iranian people being ready to "take to the streets," as Trump has urged them to do, and that the American and Israeli attacks may have increased support for the regime, including for the newly installed Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in the first strikes on Iran Feb. 28.

The CIA and other reports have not deterred many of the Christian Zionist fanatics from seeking regime change, even if it means putting American forces at risk of tens of thousands of casualties. Lunatic Secretary of War Pete Hegseth continues to talk of the resolve "to do whatever it takes" to topple the regime in Tehran, citing past Trump statements that he must be allowed to choose Iran's leadership, who must work with him. While there are some in the military command who share Crusader Pete's fanaticism, most are opposed to risking more American lives for something that may not be achieved at any cost.

Israeli Hardliners Push for Wider Conflict

Where Crusader Pete has support is within the ranks of fanatical messianic Zionists who comprise the Butcher of Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu's government, and the ranks of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who have escalated both attacks on Iran and its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon. However, sources report that the Mossad also thinks a collapse of the regime is impossible without a ground offensive against the IRGC.

These sources say that Israel will not put its forces on the ground in Iran. However, Bibi has a plan to draw Trump into a ground war. Israel was able, through its agents in Iran (which number as many as 100,000), to turn peaceful protests against government policies into armed insurrectionary riots, which then met with brutal repression by the IRGC after the Israeli-armed and paid rioters killed as many as 4,000 Basij (unarmed police) and regular police. Sources report the Israelis might try something similar now, getting Iranian anti-regime rioters slaughtered by the Revolutionary Guards and then demanding that "the U.S. send in forces to support 'the brave Iranians.'"

How Netanyahu Forced Trump’s Hand

Sources report that Bibi forced Trump's hand on the attack on Iran by declaring that he would not support a negotiated nuclear deal, the framework for which had been worked out, and that Israel was going to strike Iran. Trump would not listen to advisors who told him to accept the deal and threaten Bibi, and decided instead to join in the attack, claiming that if Israel attacked Iran, all American assets in the region would be attacked and that it was better for America to strike first.

Trump is under pressure from the Gulf States and other U.S. allies to end the war and the disruption of the flow of the world's oil supply in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, which the Iranians have effectively shut down. The Gulf States have come under relentless missile and drone attack, and not just the American bases there. The Americans have been shown that they did not have sufficient forces to protect their allies from attack.

Proposal for a Regional Peace Conference

"There is only a narrow pathway now to avert even worse disaster," said a source with more than four decades of experience in regional diplomacy. "There needs to be a regional peace conference, not something merely between Iran, Israel, and the U.S., with some mediators. Everyone needs to be represented and involved. To get the peace process going, there is an agreement for a ceasefire between Israel, the U.S., and Iran, which will then be converted to a permanent non-aggression pact.

"Then we have the peace conference," the source continued. "The agenda for the peace conference starts with the Iran nuclear deal, which is already mostly negotiated. This now includes a regional commitment for the peaceful use of nuclear power and the construction of modular nuclear reactors, as a power source for a regional development plan that will center on infrastructure development, including transportation systems involving high-speed trains, and the development of modern port facilities for trade, and most importantly desalination plants to provide the resource that the region needs most—water. There are already plans on the table to do this, such as one that has support in many places, the Oasis Plan, promoted by the Schiller Institute. These are costly, but the region has resources and wealth to support such an effort and can create its own financing mechanisms.

"How to handle the nuclear fuel cycle issue is then framed by this development perspective," the source said. "Just as in Gaza, the costs to rebuild what has been damaged in this war in only two weeks are enormous. The war needs to be stopped immediately. The path toward peace can only be found in cooperation on great undertakings that benefit everyone. I think Trump and his Board of Peace would embrace such an effort."

Putin’s Offer to Broker Ceasefire and Peace

This source and others reported that in his long call with President Trump March 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered this two-stage concept—ceasefire and then a peace conference—and expressed a willingness to help make this happen. Putin has already agreed to help Trump in lowering oil prices if sanctions are removed on Russian sales.

"Trump should accept and welcome Putin's help in organizing a peace conference and ending a war," the source stated. He also warned against what he termed "crazy plans" to arm and unleash various Kurdish groups against Iran, saying that this will only create "more chaos and death. They will not threaten, really, the Iranian regime."

Confusion Over Trump’s Endgame

Trump has issued contradictory statements about when the war might end, ranging from several weeks to a few days.

Most recently he told the press that he wants to end the war "soon," saying the mission is "way ahead of schedule" and has mostly achieved its goals—destroying Iran's nuclear weapons-making capabilities, reducing its missile program, destroying its navy, and attacking and eliminating leaders and structures that suppress the will of its people.