Trump gathers Cabinet as he looks to seal deal to end war

President Donald Trump will meet with his Cabinet on Wednesday at a precarious moment for talks aimed at ending the war with Iran, just days after insisting that his administration and Tehran had ?largely negotiated? a settlement but with the negotiations still in a state of flux.

As he prepares to huddle with his top aides, Trump is projecting confidence that he?s closing in on a deal that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and provide him a credible argument that Iran?s nuclear capability has been diminished enough to declare victory, winding down a conflict that?s been politically unpopular for



Republicans.

But as things stand, Trump also risks finding closure to his war of choice comes with an unsatisfactory ending.

The emerging deal puts off many critical issues to be resolved later and has already exposed the president to fierce criticism ? even from some of his own supporters ? that Iran?s hardline leaders will emerge from the conflict battered but emboldened.

It all comes to a head just as the midterm elections to determine control of Congress come into focus and as Republicans worry that rising costs and fuel prices are darkening the American electorate?s mood.