As President Trump searches urgently for a way out of his nearly six-month conflict with Iran, two very different strategies are competing for his attention inside the Cabinet.

Pete Hegseth has continued to champion the use of overwhelming military power, while Trump has increasingly shown interest in the approach favored by Scott Bessent, whose influence rests on a quieter but potentially more precise instrument.

‘One is a sledge-hammer and the other is a scalpel,’ a source familiar with Trump’s thinking told the Daily Mail, drawing a sharp contrast between the Secretary of War and the Treasury Secretary.

Trump is said to have vented about his Secretary of War during a Camp David retreat earlier this month, expressing anger over shortages of key U.S. defense munitions and frustration with Hegseth because he believed the problem ‘had been fixed.’

Hegseth, along with others close to the president, ‘tells Trump what he wants to hear,’ the insider said, reflecting broader Republican concerns on Capitol Hill about the influence of military advisers seen as too willing to act as Trump’s ‘yes-men.’

‘Hegseth is afraid of Trump and won’t be as honest as he should about the war for fear of losing his job,’ a GOP member on the House Armed Services Committee told the Daily Mail last month. 

When Trump assembles his A-team to discuss the war, his favorite money man is not the first to come to mind when imagining who is counseling the commander-in-chief on the conflict.

Inside Situation Room briefings, Trump goes down the line asking his top generals and National Security Council members to relay their latest assessments.

Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others all get a chance to update the commander-in-chief, a source familiar with the proceedings told the Daily Mail.

But recently, Trump has been elevating Bessent in these settings. 

Speaking at the Treasury building on Monday, Bessent unveiled Operation Economic Outcast, a drive to sanction Iran and its trading partners into negotiations after an on-again, off-again bombing campaign produced little.

‘The environment changed,’ the Trump insider said, describing a realization inside the administration that it simply ‘can’t bludgeon them anymore.’

Reports of dwindling US stocks of air-defense missiles and other munitions have coincided with the pivot toward economic pressure and away from conventional strikes.

Since the Washington Post first reported the Camp David frustrations, the US has not publicly acknowledged a single strike on Iran. 

The last confirmed attack came on July 29, when US Central Command announced a ‘heavy wave of strikes’ on dozens of targets inside the Islamic Republic.

The month-long pause appears to be the longest stretch without a publicly confirmed American strike since the war began on February 28.

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Bessent was already closer to the fight than most realized. 

He holds a seat on the National Security Council and has ‘always had a big role in Iran,’ an administration official said, using Treasury’s sanctions powers to choke the regime’s oil revenues and disrupt billions in profits.

‘He’s very trusted,’ the source close to the president said. ‘It’s not just on Iran, his stock is increasing. He’s just more and more involved in things.’

Seen as a straight shooter, Bessent has earned Trump’s confidence both behind the scenes and in front of the cameras.

That matters with an election approaching. 

As the White House trades its hot war for a military detente backed by a furious economic crackdown, the president’s advisers are wary of letting Iran dominate the midterms. Bessent can tout frozen Iranian assets one minute and answer for grocery prices the next, a combination no one else in the Cabinet offers.

‘Bessent is just the person they roll out,’ the source close to Trump said. ‘As the midterms come up it’s economy, economy, economy.’

Despite his growing influence, Bessent does have distinct vulnerabilities. His credibility with bond markets has suffered, efforts to lower borrowing costs have had mixed results and his Operation Economic Outcast strategy now faces the crucial test of whether it can compel Iran’s trading partners to fall in line. 

Hegseth’s allies insist the Treasury Secretary’s promotion is not a demotion for the Secretary of War.

‘There are limits to how much militarily will be accepted by the public and by the Congress,’ a senior Department of War official close to Hegseth told the Daily Mail. ‘The economic measures complement the bombing campaign.’ The new phase is ‘a much better strategy,’ the official added.

Still, Hegseth has all but conceded the strikes are losing their bite.

‘Economic pressure hurts them the most right now,’ he said Monday, hours after Bessent’s press conference. ‘If we need to use kinetic strikes, we’ll use them. If Iran is foolish enough to overplay their hand or mess with the American military, we’ll do what we need to do.’

He has also lauded Bessent’s new economic operation and noted how he is in full cooperation with the war’s new phase, a Department of War official pointed out. 

The White House says both secretaries stand on equal footing.

‘Secretary Bessent has been involved throughout this entire conflict, and Secretary Hegseth will continue to be heavily involved,’ a White House official said. 

Devi Ghat was once a lively riverside town, celebrated for its busy marketplace and a revered temple that drew thousands of Hindu pilgrims year after year.

Set along the banks of Nepal’s Trishuli River and framed by green mountain slopes, the town was long admired for its striking natural beauty and its centuries-old shrine perched close to the water.

The temple is dedicated to the goddess Kali, worshipped in the area as the “fierce mother” and traditionally linked with power, destruction and transformation.

On Wednesday morning, that symbolism took on a devastating real-world meaning when a sudden flash flood tore through Devi Ghat, a northern Nepal community near the Tibetan border, leaving death and destruction in its path.

Homes and buildings across the town were swept away as a violent surge of water thundered down the Trishuli River. Some structures vanished entirely, while others now stand shattered, collapsing or buried in heavy mud that rises to broken balconies and rooftops.

It is difficult to walk along what is left of Devi Ghat’s main road without your feet sinking into the filthy slush below. All around, it is a scene of unimaginable Biblical proportions as the stench of dead bodies and animals fills the air.

Rescuers have been unable to search all the homes, with many locals believed to be dead in the thick mud that engulfed them.

Everyday household contents covered in dirt can be seen hanging off balconies and roofs while the hoofs of dead cattle stick out of the ground. The town’s Kali temple was completely destroyed and washed away into the raging waters of the River Trishuli along with at least 100 of its 1,000 residents.

Some of those who survived could be seen bravely wading knee deep in the mud desperately trying to salvage what they can from their homes and shops as they attempt to rebuild their lives.

Anil, who once owned a shop in Devi Ghat market, which looks as if it had been hit by a bomb, said as he clambered over debris: ‘I’m just trying to save what I can but virtually all my stock was destroyed by the water. There’s nothing left, everything that I worked so hard to build has been taken from me.

‘But I’m not alone, it’s like this for everyone in the area. I don’t have the words to tell you how we feel because our lives have been destroyed just like our homes and businesses.’

In a stoic reference to the town’s religious heritage, he cried: ‘The goddess Kali has tricked us and unleashed her powers of destruction on Devi Ghat.’

Around 800 of Devi Ghat’s resident’s survived Wednesday’s calamity, many fleeing from their homes to higher ground as the water came crashing down. Around 400 of them are staying in a local school only a mile away on a hill side at a safe distance from the banks of the River Trishuli.

Referred to as ‘the camp,’ when the Daily Mail visited, dozens of those staying there were patiently queuing to register their names so that they can be provided with blankets and clothing.

Mothers sat around forlornly with their children, staring into the distance while others cried and embraced as they discussed the whereabouts of missing loved ones.

The residents of the temporary camp are provided with one meal per day, which is given to them at 3pm and consists of rice, lentils and some vegetables. The food is cooked on a wooden fire by some of the residents themselves who were busy cutting onions and tomatoes as they prepared to feed 400 people.

Devi, who is living in the camp with her four children and husband said: ‘It’s not enough food and we all go to bed hungry, but we are lucky to be alive. There are people out there who are not even getting one meal each day.

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‘We’re sleeping on the floor of a classroom along with other families and don’t even have blankets or clothes. Hopefully we will get these soon. When the water came, we just ran. Everything was taken from us, we left Devi Ghat with just the clothes we had on.’

The camp has been set up by Dr Kedar Narsing, who runs a local charity and is a well-known philanthropist. As he walked amongst its residents, many greeted him by bowing and placing their palms together in appreciation of his efforts.

Dr Narsing said: ‘We are doing whatever we can for these people because this is a tragedy not just for them but the whole of Nepal. I’ve been getting a lot of support from donors from across the country. This is what happens in a traditional society, we come together to help each other.

‘I know one meal a day is not enough but it’s all we can provide at the moment. We are getting more donations and hopefully, things will improve but it’s going to be a long time before these people will be able to return to their normal lives.’

As we spoke, residents began shouting with excitement as two trucks arrived carrying 25kg bags of rice and blankets. They rushed to form a line, passing the goods from one person to the next as they were put away in a storage room.

Addressing them, Dr Narsing said: ‘We must all continue to work together. Please be patient, there will be more food and blankets, Keep going, things will improve, we must remain positive about the future.’

Despite his fine words, for the residents of the camp and thousands of others across Nepal there is little optimism with the wounds of the flash flood still fresh and fears of more flooding to come.

Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal revealed over the weekend that areas affected by the flash flood had turned into ‘swampland’ and that they are on high alert for secondary flooding.

According to latest figures, 600 people have died and at least 2,426 are missing while thousands more have been left homeless.

The Nepal Tourism Board confirmed that 184 foreign nationals have been rescued but 420 are still unaccounted for, including 33 Britons.

The operation to find the missing is being orchestrated from the Maithali camp, a training centre for the Nepali army which is located around five miles inland from Devi Ghat.

Throughout the day helicopters could be seen taking off and landing as they set off on rescue missions to remote areas or returned from them.

As the choppers touched down, people saved from flood hit areas could be seen wearily being led away to a field hospital which has been set up, where they undergo medical examinations before being released into the care of NGOs or relatives.

Young troops ran around the camp loading up the helicopters with food and rescue equipment as their seniors’ barked orders.

Outside, hundreds had gathered to find out information about their loved ones or register them as missing.

Others were allowed inside where they jostled for space around a board where the names of the dead who have been identified are listed. Many walked away with tears in their eyes after reading the bad news.

The Mithali camp has become a frantic place of hope and desperation but for one man, it signalled the end of the road.

Slumped against a wall and with a gash on the side of his head, Bahdur had just arrived after being rescued from a remote village on the Nepal-Tibet border. He was the only one in his family of five to survive – the whereabouts of his wife and four children unknown to him or the Nepalese authorities.

After being checked out by army doctors, they had given him the all clear to leave.

Staring at the ground with a hopeless look in his eyes he whispered: ‘I have nowhere to go. No home and no family. Everything has been taken from me, life is not worth living.’