The Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump initially believed the U.S. should not strike Iran in response to the downing of a U.S. helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, but changed his mind after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine recommended the action. The report, attributed to unnamed officials, sheds new light on the internal debate preceding the U.S. strikes on Iran.
Related dispatches
- StrongWSJ: Trump insists Iran crisis is under control, aides say he was blindsided by escalation
- DevelopingWSJ: Trump tells aides to signal Tehran that strikes were response to Apache downing, not all-out war
- DevelopingWashington Post: Trump forced to back down on Iran, settle for Hormuz reopening
- DevelopingLeak: Trump's Iran strikes motivated by Khamenei ignoring his latest proposal
02 · Source and signal
Source and signal
A single-sourced dispatch is never rated Confirmed or Strong. Its Signal strengthens only when a second, independent source corroborates it.
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