WASHINGTON—President Trump told senior aides late Tuesday that he approved of attack plans for Iran, but was holding off on giving the final order to see if Tehran will abandon its nuclear program, three people familiar with the deliberations said.
Since his private instructions in the White House Situation Room to the military, Trump has disclosed publicly that an attack is an option.
“I have ideas on what to do but I haven’t made a final—I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due,” he told reporters Wednesday.
Trump is hoping that threatening to join Israel’s strikes on Iran, which continued for a sixth day, will compel Tehran to meet his demands, the people said. He acknowledged that a U.S. attack was under consideration but said he still may decide against it.
A senior White House official said multiple options remain on the table, and that Trump will continue to watch how the Israelis operate.
Israel began its airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, military leadership and other targets last week, dubbing the mission “Operation Rising Lion.” The Israeli military has struck more than 1,100 targets in Iran, including eight Iranian attack helicopters at a military base and 40 missile-infrastructure components in western Iran on Tuesday.
At the Pentagon, officials said the administration was considering options for conducting an attack on Iran but the president hasn’t given a final order. So far the U.S. has limited its military role to assisting Israel in defending against Iranian missiles and drones, officials say.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine attended a meeting at the White House this afternoon after testifying on Capitol Hill this morning, according to a defense official.
While planning for a potential strike has progressed, Trump might prefer to resolve the crisis diplomatically, people familiar with his thinking said.
“I may do it, I may not do it,” he also told reporters Wednesday, repeating his demand for Iran’s unconditional surrender: “The next week is going to be very big, maybe less than a week.”
Iran’s government said it wouldn’t negotiate under military threat and would retaliate if attacked.
“Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance,” it said in a statement issued by Iran’s United Nations Mission, apparently referring to Trump.
Iran’s well-defended Fordow enrichment facility is a possible U.S. target. Israel has yet to attack the facility, which is buried under a mountain and is generally considered by military experts to be out of reach of all but the most powerful bombs.
While Trump weighed his decision, the U.S. military continued to move forces to Europe and toward the Middle East, including tanker planes to refuel aircraft in flight, warships capable of shooting down ballistic missiles, an aircraft carrier battle group and advanced F-22 air-to-air fighters, which flew Wednesday to a base in Britain.
Hegseth said Wednesday the U.S. was strengthening its defenses in the Middle East, a major consideration since a U.S. strike against the Fordow facility could spur Tehran to lash out at American forces and bases in the region.
Asked during testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee if he was considering military action against Iran, Hegseth said that any decisions would be made “at the presidential level” and that he couldn’t say anything further in a public forum.
The Pentagon was working “to ensure everything at our disposal is available to ensure maximum force protection against any contingency,” he added in response to another question about whether the U.S. was prepared to deal with potential drone attacks.
Russia warned the U.S. against military action. In a phone call with his Omani counterparts, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the two diplomats urged the end of hostilities “as soon as possible” and criticized Israel’s military operation, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday.