Trump "Exasperated" As There's "No Unity" Among Top Advisers On Iran: Report

US President Donald Trump is growing increasingly frustrated as the war with Iran stretches into its sixth month, with a report stating that there are disagreements among his senior advisers over how to bring the conflict to an end.

According to NBC News, Trump had expected Iran to return to the negotiating table much sooner. Instead, the conflict has dragged on, with no clear agreement inside his administration on what the next step should be.

'The President Is Exasperated'

An unnamed ally of the president told NBC News that Trump did not expect the conflict to become so prolonged.

"The president is exasperated. I don't think he believed it was going to be this difficult to get the Iranians to agree to a deal," he said.

"There was not a real strategy for how long or what they should do to get to the endpoint... He did not intend this to be a long, drawn-out war," he added.

A separate US official, speaking anonymously, said the administration's biggest problem is the lack of consensus on how to move forward after months of fighting.

The war began with joint US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28 that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran responded with retaliatory attacks, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and an extended military standoff that has now reached a stalemate.

"After all this time, there is no unity," the official said. "We have had a series of tactical victories but are facing a strategic defeat without clear policy guidance or a decision about where this is going."

Report Claims Trump Erupted In Security Meeting

NBC reported that Trump became so frustrated during a meeting with his national security team last week that he "erupted" and shouted expletives at officials in the room.

However, US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the report, saying, "This is false. The president has a great team whom he trusts, and everyone on the team knows he's the final decision-maker."

She later defended Trump's hardline stance on Iran and told The Independent, "is not going to stand by as they break the [memorandum of understanding], kill our soldiers and fire at our ships in the Strait."

"So until that behaviour changes, his behaviour will not change. He's locked and loaded to keep punishing Iran."

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell echoed that message, saying the Department of Defence was "locked and loaded, ready to execute the president's directives at a moment's notice."

Parnell also rejected suggestions of divisions inside the Pentagon, insisting Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, "stand completely aligned and are united in mission, strategy, and resolve regarding overseas operations involving Iran."

During the 2024 campaign, Trump repeatedly promised he would keep the United States out of another "forever war".

But after launching Operation Midnight Hammer against Iran's nuclear facilities last summer and later describing the conflict as a "short-term excursion", the fighting has now continued for nearly six months.

Despite Trump's repeated claims that Tehran is "desperate" to negotiate, Iran has continued military operations while refusing to make a breakthrough deal.

Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, Trump said, "We are going to beat the f***ing s**t out of them... We'll be hitting them hard. They are going to get a beating."

He also questioned Iran's approach to diplomacy after the collapse of the memorandum of understanding signed in Versailles in June.

"For some reason, we can be in the midst of a beautiful discussion, and they'll come out and say, 'we're not talking.'"

Two Camps Emerge Inside Trump's Team

According to NBC, Trump's advisers are increasingly split over the next phase of the conflict.

One group, led by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, supports stepping up military pressure on Iran. However, the report says Netanyahu did not push that proposal during his meeting with Trump in Washington this week.

The other camp, led by Vice President JD Vance and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine, is reportedly more cautious. Caine has warned against allowing continued strikes to drain US weapons stockpiles without a clear long-term strategy, reflecting broader concerns about extending the conflict without a defined endgame.