8 hours ago
Last Updated:June 19, 2025, 08:56 IST
Donald Trump reportedly informed senior aides that he had approved plans for a potential attack on Iran. He, however, withheld the final order.
A file photo of Donald Trump (AP)
US President Donald Trump approved attack plans for Iran but has withheld a final order to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear program, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The report also quoted three people familiar with the deliberations and said Trump had told the same to some senior aides late on Tuesday.
The report came hours after Trump expressed concern over the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, stating that while he has a plan in place, the outcome remains uncertain.
Speaking to reporters, however, the US President refused to comment on whether he would order a strike on Iran.
“I have a plan for everything, anything could happen," he said.
Trump expressed frustration over Iran’s decision not to make a deal, stating, “They should have made the deal. I had a great deal for them."
He continued, “We talked about it for 60 days, and in the end, they decided not to do it, and now they wish they had. It’s late to meet, but they want to, and they want to come to the White House. I may do that. Anything could happen."
TRUMP FACES UPROAR OVER POSSIBLE IRAN STRIKE
According to Reuters, the prospect of a US strike against Iran has exposed divisions in the coalition of supporters that brought Donald Trump to power, with some of his base urging him not to get the country involved in a new Middle East war.
Some of Trump’s most prominent Republican allies, including top lieutenant Steve Bannon, have found themselves in the unusual position of being at odds with a president who largely shares their isolationist tendencies.
Bannon, one of many influential voices from Trump’s “America First" coalition, on Wednesday urged caution about the US military joining Israel in trying to destroy Iran’s nuclear program in the absence of a diplomatic deal.
“We can’t do this again," Bannon told reporters at an event sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor in Washington.
“We’ll tear the country apart. We can’t have another Iraq," he said.
The anti-interventionist part of the Republican Party is watching with alarm as Trump has moved swiftly from seeking a peaceful diplomatic settlement with Iran to possibly having the United States support Israel’s military campaign, including the use of a 30,000-pound “bunker buster" bomb.
ALSO READ | ‘Do Me A Favour, Mediate Your Own’: Trump’s Dig At Putin As Russia Offers Deal Between Iran, Israel
THE IRAN-ISRAEL WAR
In the latest, Israel’s military warned people Thursday to evacuate the area around Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor.
The warning came in a social media post on X. It included a satellite image of the plant in a red circle, like other warnings that preceded strikes.
The Arak heavy water reactor is 250 kilometres (155 miles) southwest of Tehran.
Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors, but it produces plutonium as a byproduct that can potentially be used in nuclear weapons. That would provide Iran another path to the bomb beyond enriched uranium, should it choose to pursue the weapon.
ALSO READ | US Explores Options To Strike Iran’s Nuclear Targets Without Full-Scale War: Report
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
News world Trump Privately Approved Attack Plans For Iran, Withheld Final Order: Report
