A call from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convinced President Donald Trump not to order an attack on Iran last week. Netanyahu was concerned that the attack would not be decisive, and Israel would be unable to repel an Iranian counterattack without more American military support.
On Wednesday, American diplomats and military officials in the Middle East were convinced they would receive orders from President Trump to strike Iran. Expectations for a US attack on Iran were built over the previous two weeks as Trump threatened the Islamic Republic for cracking down on protesters.
Members of his cabinet, including Vice President JD Vance, were pushing Trump to authorize strikes. Vance argued Trump had drawn a red line that Iran had crossed by killing protesters, and the President must enforce it.
However, the President received a call from Netanyahu, who warned that the planned strikes would not be decisive and that the US lacked the military equipment in the Middle East to repel an Iranian counterattack.
Axios reporter Barak Ravid spoke with several US officials who said Netanyahu’s warning and the potential for Iranian retaliation were significant factors in Trump’s decision not to order an attack.
Since the US and Israeli was on Iran in June, two aircraft carrier strike groups and an advanced air defense system have been deployed out of the Middle East. Late last week, Trump dispatched the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to the region.
An Iranian official said on Sunday that at least 5,000 people had been killed over three weeks of demonstrations. The protests often turned into riots, and over 500 members of the Iranian security forces had also been killed.
While the demonstrations in Iran have mostly ceased, US officials say the potential for an attack on the Islamic Republic remains a possibility.
