Piper Sandler sees Trump as a "hawk" on Iran and a "dove" on Russia

Investing.com - U.S. President Donald Trump has been a "hawk" on Iran but a "dove" on Russia, according to analysts at Piper Sandler.

In a note, the strategists argued that Trump is likely taking a tougher stance with Iran because he "does not want [the country] to develop a nuclear bomb on his watch is prepared to stop it from happening."

They added that while Trump is "hesitant to use military force," he believes Israel is "doing all of the work and taking casualties" in helping address a "direct risk to the U.S. national interest."

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has cast a pall over investor sentiment. Wall Street futures were subdued on Wednesday, with traders moving cautiously amid the fighting.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded to Trump’s recent demand for Tehran’s surrender on Wednesday, saying any U.S. strike on the country would have "serious irreparable consequences."

Trump is mulling various options, including a potential U.S. strike against Iran, after meeting with top advisers in the Situation Room at the White House on Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing unnamed administration officials. A Reuters report stated that the U.S. military is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes.

Against this backdrop, the Piper Sandler analysts suggested that Trump’s threshold for invoking military force is "high," but is "probably a lot lower when it comes to Iran than perhaps any other place on the globe." Trump, at the same time, is still aiming to secure a fresh nuclear deal with Tehran, the analysts said.

Compared to his more strident approach to Iran, Trump does not view a separate war in Ukraine as threatening "crucial U.S. interests," the Sandler analysts said.

Instead, Trump may see the now multi-year conflict between Ukraine and Russia as "primarily a problem" for a European region that the president views as "weak and free riding off the U.S.," the analysts added.

Although they anticipate that the U.S. will continue to provide critical intelligence to Ukraine, Washington’s will offer "little else directly."

Any further sale of U.S. military equipment to Europe on behalf of Ukraine or tighter sanctions on Russia would "likely come from Congress rather than Trump," they said.