Donald Trump will host the 12th cabinet meeting of his second term on Wednesday as talks on ending the nearly three-month war with Iran reach a crucial stage amid conflicting signals over whether an agreement is close.
The gathering had originally been scheduled to take place in the bucolic setting of Camp David, the presidential retreat that had previously been the site of sensitive Middle East negotiations, including the historic Israeli-Egyptian peace accords.
But Trump switched it back to its more accustomed White House setting, citing adverse weather forecasts.
“Based on the possible bad weather conditions tomorrow, we will be having our Cabinet Meeting in the White House, and will be postponing the Cabinet trip to Camp David,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform. Heavy rain is expected in the area on Wednesday.
The initial decision to stage it at Camp David had raised eyebrows, given that Trump had visited the presidential retreat deep in the Maryland countryside, 62 miles north-west of Washington, much less frequently than most of his predecessors.
Wednesday’s meeting will focus on “recent successes of the administration including economy and small business wins, Task Force to Eliminate Fraud highlights, and foreign policy updates”, a White House spokesperson told the New York Post, which revealed the preliminary Camp David venue, before the subsequent shift.
The gathering comes as Trump’s approval ratings sink and economic pessimism rises amid the war with Iran.
Trump announced at the weekend that a deal to end hostilities was close at hand, although the US on Monday struck Iranian targets, reportedly killing four members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Negotiations, nevertheless, were said to be continuing.
Trump – who said last Saturday that an agreement with Iran “had been largely negotiated” – has sent confusing signals on peace prospects after a largely negative reaction from US rightwing circles and anti-Tehran hawks.
In a social media post on Tuesday, he vented anger at media commentators who had depicted the emerging terms as favorable to Iran and a potential humiliation for him.
“If Iran surrenders … and admit their defeat to the great power and force of the magnificent USA, the Failing New York Times, the China Street Journal (WSJ!), Corrupt and now Irrelevant CNN, and all other members of the Fake News Media, will headline that Iran had a Masterful and Brilliant Victory over The United States of America,” he wrote.
Participants in the meeting are expected to include Tulsi Gabbard, who announced her forthcoming resignation as director of national intelligence last week. Gabbard attracted Trump’s ire last year after testifying to Congress that she believed Iran was not pursuing nuclear weapons, just months before US forces bombed the country’s uranium enrichment facilities.
