In President Donald Trump’s telling, he was an hour away from ordering new strikes on Iran when he abruptly announced on social media Monday that he would allow more time for diplomacy.
“They’re loaded to the brim,” he said Tuesday of his armada of warships in the region, “and we were all set to start.”
Exactly how close the war was to restarting is something of an open question. Officials from some Gulf countries, who Trump claimed had urged him to hold off strikes, said they weren’t aware of impending military action.
Other sources said renewed strikes were expected to begin at the start of this week — the same timeline Trump offered up — while two additional sources said they were not anticipated until the end of the week.
Whatever the schedule, Trump’s decision to back away was the latest example of the president threatening to use withering force on Iran, only to suddenly switch gears.
