President Trump asked top military officials and other senior advisers about attacking an Iranian nuclear complex last week, but decided against a military strike, two reports said Monday.
Trump asked advisers, including Vice President Mike Pence and General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, what options he had for attacking the country’s main nuclear facility in an Oval Office meeting last Thursday, the New York Times reported.
A number of advisers, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, dissuaded the president from taking the drastic action, which they believed could lead to a broader military conflict in the region, according to the report.
Reuters confirmed the Times’ account of the meeting, citing an unnamed US official.
“He asked for options. They gave him the scenarios and he ultimately decided not to go forward,” the source told the news outlet.
The Times reported that a military strike in Iran by the US “would almost certainly” target Natanz, a nuclear facility in the country where uranium stockpiles have risen to more than 12 times those allowable by the nuclear deal that Trump pulled out of in 2018.
While officials believe they talked Trump out of a US strike in the country, the president may be considering targeting other Iranian allies, including militias in Iraq, the Times reported.