President Trump approved attack plans on Iran Tuesday night, but did not make a final decision on whether to strike the country and formally join Israel’s air campaign, a senior intelligence source and a Defense Department official told CBS News.
Mr. Trump held off on deciding to strike in case Tehran agrees to abandon its nuclear program, the sources said.
The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CBS News previously reported Tuesday that Mr. Trump was weighing a U.S. strike on Fordo, a subterranean uranium enrichment facility. Israel has not conducted any known strikes on Fordo since it began bombing Iranian nuclear and military targets late last week.
Mr. Trump told reporters on Wednesday he had not made a final decision on whether to strike Iran.
“I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due, because things change, especially with war,” he said.
“I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” he said earlier Wednesday, adding that he’d like Iran to negotiate on a deal to end its nuclear program.
Iran — which has long insisted the program exists solely for peaceful purposes — said Wednesday it “does NOT negotiate under duress,” and said it would “respond to any threat with a counter-threat.”
Iran has prepared missiles and equipment for strikes on U.S. bases in the Middle East if the U.S. joins the Israeli campaign, according to a senior U.S. intelligence official and a Pentagon official briefed on the matter.
Israel began striking Iran early Friday morning. The Trump administration has said publicly it is not participating in the offensive strikes, though CBS News previously reported the U.S. has helped Israel intercept Iran’s retaliatory missile strikes.
In recent days, Mr. Trump has not ruled out the idea of joining Israel’s campaign, saying on Truth Social his “patience is wearing thin.”
The president said Tuesday the U.S. knows the whereabouts of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. On Sunday, CBS News reported Mr. Trump had opposed an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei.
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