An effort to open the trade route, which Iran has strangled and which is vital to global oil trade, would prolong the conflict by up to six weeks, according to a conclusion that Trump and his advisers are said to have reached.
The United States is considering instead focusing on achieving other goals, such as crippling Iran's navy and missile arsenals, and then escalating the fighting, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Officials told the newspaper that Washington, D.C., would then pressure allies in Europe and the Persian Gulf region to make an effort to open the strait at a later date.
Halfway in?
Trump's ally in the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has a different opinion.
He says the war, now in its second month, is half over. He tells Newsmax in the US that he does not want to set a timetable for the fighting, which initial estimates put at four to six weeks.
Meanwhile, the war continues to rage, with attacks on Iran and Iranian counterattacks against pro-Western targets in the region.
On Tuesday, fireballs were seen lighting up the sky in Isfahan, in a video clip shared by Donald Trump. The city, located in central Iran, is home to a nuclear facility that has previously been the target of US attacks. According to The Wall Street Journal, the target was a large ammunition depot that was attacked with 900-kilogram US bunker bombs.
In parallel, a desalination plant on the Iranian island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz has been attacked and damaged so badly that it is unusable, AFP reports, citing state media. However, it is unclear when the attack took place.
A pharmaceutical factory, focused on cancer medicine, has also been attacked, according to the regime.
Air-raid alarms and bangs
The Israeli military also struck the "heart of Tehran" on Monday night and carried out new attacks on Tuesday morning, with reports of power outages as a result. A Shia Muslim shrine was hit in northern Iran.
In central Israel, air-raid sirens sounded as waves of Iranian missiles were intercepted. At least eight people are reported to have been injured, mainly by debris from downed missiles.
People were also injured by debris in Dubai. A Kuwaiti oil tanker was hit in nearby waters and several explosions were heard there during the day.
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia also reported attacks, and loud bangs were heard in northern Iraq.
