Trump reportedly asked advisers for options on how to strike Iran's main nuclear site
After international inspectors shared that Iran has increased its stockpile of nuclear material, President Trump asked his top national security aides if he had options for a military strike against the country's main nuclear site, four former and current U.S. officials told The New York Times on Monday.
Trump made the query during a meeting in the Oval Office on Thursday. On Wednesday, inspectors with the International Atomic Energy Agency said at Iran's Natanz facility, the uranium stockpile is now 12 times larger than what was permitted under the nuclear deal forged during the Obama administration. They also said Iran did not give inspectors access to another area where there was evidence of earlier nuclear activity.
Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all discouraged Trump from taking any action, warning it could lead to a dangerous situation, the Times reports. The advisers believe they got through to Trump and a missile attack inside Iran won't happen, the officials said, but he might still be trying to find a way to hit Iranian allies, including militias in Iraq.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Read more about Trump's views on Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency's report on the country's nuclear program at The New York Times.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Metal-based compounds may be the future of antibioticsUnder the radar Robots can help develop them
-
Europe’s apples are peppered with toxic pesticidesUnder the Radar Campaign groups say existing EU regulations don’t account for risk of ‘cocktail effect’
-
Political cartoons for February 1Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Tom Homan's offer, the Fox News filter, and more
-
EU and India clinch trade pact amid US tariff warSpeed Read The agreement will slash tariffs on most goods over the next decade
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearingSpeed Read Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy
