Trump’s National Security Team Considers Military Action Against Iran
Emerging from a late-night Situation Room meeting on Tuesday to deliberate on options for striking Iran, some of President Donald Trump’s top national security officials were relatively certain a decision on military action was close at hand. The president, they felt, was moved by seeing videos from Iran showcasing past executions, grisly scenes that seemed likely to repeat themselves amid the regime’s brutal crackdown on protesters, a person familiar with the meeting said.
Trump was briefed on Iran’s planned execution of one high-profile protestor, 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, which the State Department announced on Tuesday had been initially scheduled for January 14. The president was deeply troubled by the prospect, a source familiar with the meeting told CNN. While no decision was formally conveyed during the meeting, Trump indicated he would continue to weigh options. However, by Wednesday morning, after encouraging Iranians to take to the streets and declaring “help is on its way,” Trump appeared closer than before to calling for a limited military operation, the source said.
Senior Trump administration officials were surprised the following day when the president declared “very important sources on the other side” had informed him the killing had stopped, suggesting there was now no imminent threat of military action. At that point, US intelligence reporting had not indicated Iran had ceased executing protesters. Many still believed military strikes were likely, and precautionary steps had already been taken to evacuate non-essential personnel from the largest US airbase in the region.
“The president and his team have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will be grave consequences,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing. She added later that Trump was keeping his line of thought closely held. “The truth is only President Trump knows what he’s going to do, and a very, very small team of advisors are read in to his thinking on that,” she said.
Behind the scenes, an urgent effort has been underway by some top US allies to forestall military action. Trump, wary of taking action with an uncertain outcome that could put US service members in harm’s way, appeared receptive to the arguments, multiple US officials said. Ahead of his appearance Wednesday afternoon, Trump spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who encouraged the president to hold off plans for an attack, a person familiar with the call said. Israelis didn’t believe the regime would fall quickly without a prolonged campaign, and there was concern over the state of the country’s missile defenses, which were exte
