NEW YORK, July 26. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump has set aside, at least for now, plans to sharply escalate the military assault against Iran for fear that intensifying the war could dangerously drain the Pentagon’s already diminished stockpile of the Patriot antimissile interceptors in the Middle East, The New York Times quoted sources as saying.

According to them, Trump held a meeting on Iran with key advisers and senior officials on Friday to discuss shrinking inventory of the Patriot interceptors. General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has cautioned that resuming major combat operations against Iran was doable, but it would dangerously deplete interceptors available to the military’s Central Command.

Few if any in Trump’s inner circle believed that escalation would be wise, the sources said. One senior official expressed doubt that resuming major combat operations would drive Iran back to the bargaining table.

The official said the strikes have the opposite effect of what is intended, keeping Iran cohesive and allowing Iranian leaders to focus attention on the external threat.

The US administration is concerned about the prospect of an expansion of the war, the complication of relations with allies in the Persian Gulf, vulnerable to Iranian attacks, as well as the aggravation of the energy and migration crisis, The New York Times concluded.