The White House has been briefed that President Donald Trump could potentially launch a strike on Iran as soon as this Saturday.
CNN on Wednesday cited sources that Trump had privately argued for and against military action against Iran, but had yet to finalize his decision despite discussing America’s options with advisers and allies.
Senior military officials met in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday to discuss Iran, CNN reported. Trump had also been briefed by son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff. The two men had indirect talks with Iran on Tuesday.
“He is spending a lot of time thinking about this,” a source said of Trump. There is no indication if he will make up his mind by the weekend. The sources noted that there had been a major boost in U.S. air and naval assets deployed in the Middle East in recent days in preparation for a possible attack.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and the Pentagon for comment.
Sources told CBS that conversations over action in Iran have been “fluid and ongoing”, with the White House balancing the potential risk of escalating military action.
The Pentagon is in the process of temporarily relocating staff in the Middle East to Europe or the U.S. in preparation for counterattacks by Iran if Trump decides to instigate a strike, which is standard practice if any potential attack on an area is being considered.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday Iran was due to share information on their negotiating position “in the next couple of weeks,” but did not say whether Trump would postpone military action until those details were made available.
“I’m not going to set deadlines on behalf of the president of the United States,” Leavitt said, but insisted that while military action is a possibility, “diplomacy is always his first option.”
Leavitt added, “There’s many reasons and arguments that one could make for a strike against Iran,” but noted that the president was “first and foremost” relying on advice from his administration.
She said the administration had “a very successful operation in June that targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities.”
“Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump and with his administration,” Leavitt said.
Claiming the two countries are “still very far apart” on some issues, Leavitt said “the Iranians are expected to come back to us with some more detail in the next couple of weeks, and so the president will continue to watch how this plays out.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to visit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Feb. 28 to provide him with an update on discussions with Iran.
Israel would be expected to help any U.S. military action against Iran.
Potential action on Iran from Trump follows a report in Axios earlier this week that the 79-year-old was becoming bored with ongoing nuclear talks and was ready to launch military action.
“The boss is getting fed up. Some people around him warn him against going to war with Iran, but I think there is 90 percent chance we see kinetic action in the next few weeks,” one Trump adviser told Axios.
However launching a war in the Middle East could further enrage Trump’s supporter base who want him to focus on ‘America First’ policies, especially with the midterm elections in November on the horizon.
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