U.S. President Donald Trump said at his Board of Peace meeting this morning, Feb. 19, that he’ll decide within ten days about whether to launch a military campaign against Iran. “Now, we may have to take it a step further, or we may not. Maybe we are going to make a deal [with Iran]. You are going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days,” he said.
In an exchange aboard Air Force One this afternoon, Trump repeated this time-frame again to reporters.
According to a CBS News report posted last night, top national security officials have told Trump that the military is ready whenever he gives the order, even as soon as this coming Saturday, Feb. 21. Unnamed officials told the network that Trump had not yet made a final decision about whether to strike. The conversations have been described as fluid and ongoing, as the White House weighs the risks of escalation and the political and military consequences of restraint.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a White House briefing Feb. 18 that there are “many reasons and arguments that one could make for a strike against Iran,” but that diplomacy is always the President’s first option. She declined to discuss whether a potential strike would be coordinated with Israel.
Leavitt told reporters the administration had conducted “a very successful operation in June that targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities,” a point that Trump repeated today. “Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump and with his administration,” she said.
