President Trump calls off a planned strike on Iran:
Donald Trump approved military strikes against Iran in retaliation for downing a $180m US spy drone but pulled back last minute as planes were in the air and ships in position against the advice of some of his top aides, according to reports.
Military and diplomatic officials were said to be expecting a strike as late as 7pm Thursday, with planned attacks on Iranian targets including radar and missile batteries approved, The New York Times reports.
The paper says multiple senior administration sources confirmed the plans.
One insider is said to have told them planes were in the air and ships were in position when the mission was called off – against the advice Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, national security adviser John R. Bolton and CIA director Gina Haspel.
Iran had earlier released GPS coordinates suggesting the drone was eight miles off its coast. That put the missile within the 12 nautical miles from the shore Iran claims as its territorial waters.
Officials there later said they had ‘indisputable’ evidence the drone violated its airspace.
But the US said it was shot down 21 miles off the Iranian coast, in the Strait of Hormuz.
My guess is that he approved the strike but changed his mind when he found out that there was, at the very least, reason to question where his officials said the drone was shot down.