“The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody.”

— President Trump, quoted by Mediaite.

New York Times: “The Trump administration’s public portrayal of a shattered Iranian military is sharply at odds with what U.S. intelligence agencies are telling policymakers behind closed doors, according to classified assessments from early this month that show Iran has regained access to most of its missile sites, launchers and underground facilities.”

“Most alarming to some senior officials is evidence that Iran has restored operational access to 30 of the 33 missile sites it maintains along the Strait of Hormuz, which could threaten American warships and oil tankers transiting the narrow waterway.”

“This is not how President Trump wanted to arrive in China,” the New York Times reports.

“When he delayed his long-awaited trip to Beijing by six weeks, Mr. Trump was betting he would arrive in Beijing this week having forced the Iranians to capitulate to his demands. He anticipated that by now the shattered Iranian leadership would have agreed to turn over its nuclear stockpile, forgo its atomic ambitions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The message to President Xi Jinping would have been clear: Chinese declarations of a superpower in decline were premature.”

“Instead, Mr. Trump will arrive on Wednesday with many in China wondering how he got bogged down by a far lesser power in a war he started. Iran’s nuclear stockpile is exactly where it was, still under the rubble of an American bombing raid last June. The Strait of Hormuz, through which China gets more than 30 percent of its oil and a bit less of its natural gas, remains closed, with no obvious plan to pry it open again.”

“And Mr. Trump looks, as Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany said two weeks ago, ‘humiliated’ by a smaller power, having entered the conflict ‘with no truly convincing strategy.’”

“The U.S. military is considering officially re-naming the war with Iran “Operation Sledgehammer” if the current ceasefire collapses and President Donald Trump decides to re-start major combat operations,” NBC News reports.

“The discussions about possibly replacing ‘Operation Epic Fury’ with ‘Operation Sledgehammer’ underscore how seriously the administration is considering resuming the war started on Feb. 28, and could allow Trump to argue that it restarts the 60-day clock that requires congressional authorization for war.”

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that he would join President Trump on his trip to China this week,” the New York Times reports.

“Defense secretaries, including Mr. Hegseth, have previously traveled with presidents on overseas trips, to provide advice and represent the U.S. military during the visits. Mr. Hegseth has traveled to Asia several times in his tenure, mostly to attend security conferences and visit troops in the region.”

“Mr. Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and more than a dozen chief executives are also set to be in China with the president.”