U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday compared recent U.S. strikes on Iran to Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, as he defended his administration’s military actions during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House.

Responding to a question about why allies were not informed in advance, Trump said the element of surprise was intentional. “We wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan?” he said, referencing the attack on Attack on Pearl Harbor.

The remark appeared to catch Takaichi off guard, as she reacted visibly during the Oval Office meeting.

Japan’s 1941 attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii killed more than 2,300 Americans and led the United States to enter World War II. Then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously described the day as “a date which will live in infamy.”

The war ended in 1945 after U.S. atomic bombings of Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Trump’s comments drew mixed reactions in Japan. Some observers said the comparison was inappropriate given its historical sensitivity, while others downplayed it as a joke.

Speaking in Tokyo, engineer Yuta Nakamura said Takaichi had been placed in a difficult position but handled the moment carefully. Meanwhile, retiree Tokio Washino said the reference made him feel uneasy, given Japan’s wartime history.

The United States is considering sending thousands of additional troops to the Middle East as the war with Iran enters a potentially more complex stage, according to U.S. officials and sources familiar with the discussions.

The move would give US President Donald Trump broader military options as the conflict, now in its third week, continues to escalate. While no final decision has been made, officials say the administration is exploring scenarios that could expand the scope of current operations, Reuters reported.

Among the options under review is securing commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical corridor for global energy supplies. While such a mission would rely largely on naval and air power, it could also involve deploying U.S. forces along Iran’s coastline.

Another proposal under discussion includes sending ground forces to Kharg Island, which handles the vast majority of Iran’s oil exports.

U.S. strikes have already targeted military sites on the island, but analysts say controlling the facility could be seen as more strategically valuable than destroying it outright.

Officials caution, however, that such an operation would carry significant risks due to Iran’s missile and drone capabilities.

The administration is also weighing options to secure Iran’s stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, a move that experts say would be highly complex and dangerous even for elite forces.

A White House official said no decision has been taken on deploying ground troops, emphasizing that “all options remain on the table” as the administration pursues its military objectives, including weakening Iran’s missile and naval capabilities and preventing it from acquiring nuclear weapons.

The discussions come as U.S. forces intensify their campaign against Iran. Since the start of hostilities in late February, Washington says it has conducted thousands of strikes targeting Iran’s military infrastructure, including its navy, missile systems and defense industry.

According to U.S. Central Command, more than 120 Iranian vessels have been damaged or destroyed.

Despite the scale of operations, the conflict has also taken a toll on U.S. forces. At least 13 American troops have been killed and around 200 wounded, though most injuries are reported to be minor.

Any decision to deploy ground troops could carry political consequences for Trump, who has previously pledged to avoid new foreign wars and faces skepticism among parts of the American public over deeper involvement in the Middle East.

Complicating matters further, the U.S. military is set to lose the presence of one of its key aircraft carriers, the USS Gerald R. Ford, which is being sent for maintenance following a fire.

While an amphibious ready group with more than 2,000 Marines is expected to arrive in the region, officials say broader reinforcement plans are still under consideration.

Trump has also sent mixed signals on whether the U.S. should take responsibility for securing the Strait of Hormuz, at times suggesting allies should take the lead or even questioning continued American involvement.

As military planning continues, officials stress that no immediate ground deployment is expected, but acknowledge that the situation remains fluid as Washington evaluates its next steps in the conflict.

President Donald Trump’s administration has rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to start diplomatic negotiations aimed at ending the Iran war that started two weeks ago with a massive U.S.-Israeli air assault, according to three sources familiar with the efforts, Reuters reported.

Iran, for its part, has rejected the possibility of any ceasefire until U.S. and Israeli strikes end, two senior Iranian sources told Reuters, adding that several countries had been trying to mediate an end to the conflict.

The lack of interest from Washington and Tehran suggests both sides are digging in for an extended conflict, even as the widening war inflicts civilian casualties and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz sends oil prices soaring.

U.S. strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island, the country’s main oil export hub, on Friday night underscored Trump’s determination to press ahead with his military assault. Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut and threatened to step up attacks on neighboring countries.

The war has killed more than 2,000 people, mostly in Iran, and created the biggest-ever oil supply disruption as maritime traffic has halted in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil ⁠is transported.

Oman, which mediated talks before the war, has tried multiple times to open a line of communication, but the White House has made clear it is not interested, according to two sources, who like others in this story were granted anonymity in order to speak freely about diplomatic matters.

A senior White House official confirmed Trump has rebuffed those efforts to start talks and is focused on pressing ahead with the war to further weaken Tehran’s military capabilities, read the report.

“He’s not interested in that right now, and we’re going to continue with the mission unabated. Maybe there’s a day, but not right now,” the official said.

During the first week of the war, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Iran’s leadership and military were so battered by U.S.-Israeli strikes that they wanted to talk, but that it was “Too Late!” He has a history of shifting foreign policy stances without warning, making it hard to rule out that he might test the waters for restarting diplomacy.

“President Trump said new potential leadership in Iran has indicated they want to talk and eventually will talk. For now, Operation Epic Fury continues unabated,” a second senior White House official said when asked to comment on this story.

The Iranian sources said Tehran has rejected efforts by several countries to negotiate a ceasefire until the ⁠U.S. and Israel end their airstrikes and meet Iran’s demands, which include a permanent end to U.S. and Israeli attacks and compensation as part of a ceasefire.

Egypt, which was involved in mediation before the war, has also tried to reopen communications, according to three security and diplomatic sources. While the efforts do not appear to have made progress, they have secured some military restraint from neighboring countries hit by Iran, according to one of the sources.

Egypt’s foreign ministry, the government of Oman and the Iranian government did not respond to requests for comment, Reuters reported.

The war’s impact on global oil markets has significantly increased the cost for the United States.

Some U.S. officials and advisers to Trump urge a quick end to ⁠the war, warning that surging gasoline prices could exact a high political price from the president’s Republican Party, with U.S. midterm elections looming.

Others are pressing Trump to maintain the offensive against the Islamic Republic to destroy its missile program and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon, according to Reuters reporting.

Trump’s rejection of diplomatic efforts could indicate that, for now, the administration has no plans for a quick end to the war.

Indeed, both the United States and Iran appear even less willing to ⁠engage than during the opening days of the war, when senior U.S. officials reached out to Oman to discuss de-escalating, according to several sources.

One source said Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had also sought to use Oman as a conduit for ceasefire discussions that would have involved U.S. Vice President JD Vance.

But those discussions have not materialized.

Instead, Iran’s position has hardened, said a third senior Iranian source.

“Whatever was ⁠communicated previously through the diplomatic channels is irrelevant now,” said the source.

“The Guards strongly believe that if they lose control over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will lose the war,” the source added, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite paramilitary force that controls large parts of the economy.

“Therefore, the Guards will not accept any ceasefire, ceasefire talks, or diplomatic efforts, and Iran’s political leaders will not engage in such talks despite attempts by several countries.”