US Military Was Hours From Striking Iran Before Trump Said Deal Was Reached

The US military was about three hours away from launching strikes on Iran on Thursday night, according to a NBC report citing American officials, before President Donald Trump announced on social media that an agreement had been reached and the operation was canceled. The officials said naval vessels had already prepared munitions for the planned attack.

The report said Trump had earlier posted on Truth Social, at midday, that the US would strike that night and that it would take over Kharg Island. But the officials said Kharg was not among the targets approved for the operation, despite the president’s public threats. They added that there had been routine contingency plans over recent months for possible strikes on the island and even a ground operation there, but those plans were never approved by Trump.

According to the officials, the military had options ready, but commanders only began planning the specific Thursday-night strikes after Trump’s morning post. Separately, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senior officers he wanted the Iran strikes to look different from the options presented to him in recent weeks.

The cancellation became public shortly after Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine met with Trump at the White House to discuss possible action in Iran. The officials said the president’s post ending the strikes came soon after that meeting, and that the military was even more surprised by the cancellation than by his earlier threats.