President Donald Trump has approved military plans for potential U.S. strikes on Iran but is holding off on giving the final order to see if Tehran will abandon its nuclear program, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Trump is reportedly hoping that the threat of joining Israel’s military campaign will pressure Iran into making concessions on its nuclear program, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The developments follow heightened tensions in the region and a growing number of comments and actions suggesting the Trump administration may pursue direct U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict.
Earlier on Wednesday, President Trump was asked at the White House whether he is moving closer to launching strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. “I may do it, I may not do it, no one knows what I’m going to do,” Trump said.
“Iran’s got a lot of trouble and they want to negotiate, and I said why didn’t they negotiate with me before,” Trump said. “You could have done fine, you would have a country, it’s very sad to watch this.”
President Trump on Monday called for the evacuation of Tehran, then left the G7 summit early to