On 19/6, President Donald Trump stated, "Based on the fact that there’s a very good chance we’ll reach an agreement shortly, I’ll make a decision as to which way we want to go over the next two weeks," referring to potential US military action against Iran.
However, on 22/6, CNN cited sources indicating that Trump had already leaned towards military action against Iran several days prior to this announcement.
According to informed sources, Trump was reportedly irritated by media reports claiming he had finalized a decision to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. He believed that setting a two-week deadline would both mislead Iran and conceal his true intentions.
Trump instructed his aides to leak the "two-week decision" information to the press just before lunching with former advisor Steve Bannon, who had publicly expressed skepticism about US intervention in the Iran-Israel conflict.
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US President Donald Trump at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on 20/6. _Photo: AP_ |
Shortly after, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt entered the briefing room and declared that the President had not made a final decision on the matter.
On 20/6, Trump met with senior national security advisors to discuss air strike options and held numerous phone conversations throughout the day. The following day, he ordered the US military to deploy over 125 aircraft, including B-2 bombers, to target Iran's Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites.
In a press conference on 22/6, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth revealed that this plan had been months in development and weeks in preparation. "The operation required extreme precision, involved significant diversionary tactics, and maintained the highest level of operational security," Hegseth stated.
The Pentagon reported that Iranian air defenses failed to detect the approaching US warplanes and mounted no response. After dropping 14 GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs on the Iranian nuclear facilities, the B-2 stealth bomber squadron returned safely to the US.
According to two sources familiar with the situation, the US communicated to Iran through back channels that the air strikes were limited and that Washington had no immediate plans for further attacks.
Nguyen Tien (_Adapted from CNN, AP, AFP_)
