Behind the scenes of Trump's decision to attack Iran in broad daylight: “A window of opportunity”
The United States launched military strikes against Iran on Saturday as part of a joint operation with Israel after intelligence assessments indicated a rare opportunity to target the country's top leadership, according to people familiar with domestic deliberations.
Donald Trump with advisers in the crisis room at Mar-a-Lago PHOTO EPA-EFE
Israeli intelligence had been tracking the movements of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and determined there was a window of opportunity to launch attacks while several senior leaders were meeting in Tehran, the sources said. The operation was designed to hit several reunions simultaneously.
“The Israelis were following him, and that morning there were several meetings”said a person with knowledge of Israeli military preparations. “They targeted them all.”
Two people familiar with the talks said planners appreciated that Khamenei's removal could destabilize the Iranian regime. Although the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is considered deeply loyal to Khamenei, officials have assessed that it may not support a successor as strongly, which could weaken the regime's cohesion.
On Saturday afternoon, a US official confirmed that US intelligence assessments indicated that Khamenei and between five and 10 other senior Iranian leaders had been killed in an Israeli strike on a compound in Tehran. US President Donald Trump later announced on his platform, Truth Social, that Khamenei had been killed.
In a video message announcing the start of what he described as an operation that could last several days, Trump did not give a specific reason for launching the strikes. Still, people familiar with the situation said the opportunity to target Khamenei accelerated the timetable for military action.
The strikes were criticized by Oman's foreign minister, Badr Albusaidi, who helped mediate recent talks between US and Iranian officials. “I am dismayed. Active and serious negotiations have once again been undermined. Neither the interests of the United States nor the cause of global peace are well served by this,” Albusaidi wrote in a post on X.
The operation followed a week of rapid diplomatic developments and hinged, in part, on the conclusion of Trump's special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, regarding Iran's alleged procrastination in the negotiations. The two met with Iranian representatives at the residence of the Omani ambassador in Geneva on Thursday.
In the day-long talks, Witkoff and Kushner pressed Iran to agree to dismantle its three main uranium enrichment facilities – Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz – all targeted in the bombing campaign ordered by Trump last year. American negotiators also called for the transfer of the remaining stockpile of enriched uranium to the United States.
In addition, US officials have insisted that any new deal be permanent and not include sunset clauses similar to those in the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated during the Obama administration. Trump withdrew from that agreement in his first term.
At the end of the talks, Witkoff and Kushner said they were disappointed with the outcome, according to officials briefed on the matter. On Friday, Trump received a military briefing from General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, on available attack options.
Senior US officials said the president considered several factors before deciding to launch the strikes. An official said Iran's conventional ballistic missile arsenal was a “intolerable threat” which Tehran has repeatedly refused to address in the negotiations.
“They have refused, every time, and have consistently refused to discuss ballistic missiles,” the official stated. “They don't want to talk about it – not with us, not with our regional partners.”
Another official said the United States remains skeptical of Iran's claim that its uranium enrichment program is for purely peaceful purposes. US negotiators offered an indefinite supply of nuclear fuel, but the Iranian side rejected the proposal – a gesture the official described as a “clear signal”.
Intelligence assessments have also indicated that Iran has begun rebuilding enrichment facilities destroyed in last year's US campaign, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, and has been building up stockpiles of partially enriched uranium. Officials concluded that Tehran ultimately had no intention of reaching a deal.
“The president, frankly, had no choice”an official said. “We cannot continue to live in a world where these people not only own missiles, but also have the ability to produce 100 per month, endlessly. We will not be held hostage and we will not allow them to strike us first.”
