Report: Trump meets with national security team to weigh renewed strikes on Iran
US President Donald Trump met with his national security team on Thursday to discuss whether to resume military operations against Iran, Fox News reported Friday, citing senior officials. Will the US nuke Iran? The officials said the White House held talks on both Wednesday and Thursday. They noted that the November 9 new moon would leave the Middle East with little or no moonlight, which they said would favor military operations. On Thursday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Washington would “make a decision” on whether to order further strikes to keep Iran from reviving its nuclear program.
“I would rather not destroy the rest of the country if possible, but maybe I will have to. You'll know soon enough.” Separately, reports citing a US official said US Central Command was finalizing preparations for a possible resumption of major military operations in Iran. The command had yet to receive a new directive from Washington, the official said.
Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture
The article never mentions the US-Iran negotiations running alongside the strike deliberations. i24News reported days earlier that Trump said talks were progressing and that Rubio said Washington preferred diplomacy. Other outlets reported that Tehran had sent a new nuclear proposal through Qatari mediators. Without this, a reader sees Trump's choice as only whether and when to strike, not as a choice between a deal and renewed bombing.
How we know
- i24News wrote earlier“Rubio said Washington preferred diplomacy while condemning Iran’s attacks on commercial shipping”Trump says Iran talks progressing, singles out Pickaxe Mountain as potential target | LIVE BLOG (opens in a new tab)
- Daily Mail reported“Tehran, meanwhile, has offered the White House a new proposal on its nuclear program through Qatari mediators, leaving Trump to choose between a deal and flattening what is left.”Trump rushed into secret national security meeting on whether to start up Iran strikes as deal nears (opens in a new tab)