Trump Privately Approved of Attack Plans for Iran but Has Withheld Final Order

As the conflict between Iran and Israel continues, President Trump is considering multiple options, including a U.S. strike on Iran

Last Updated:

June 18, 2025 at 11:28 PM ET

Photo: Alex Brandon/AP

President Trump told senior aides late Tuesday that he approved of attack plans for Iran, but was holding off to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear program, people familiar with the deliberations said. Iran’s well-defended Fordow enrichment facility is a possible U.S. target; it is buried under a mountain and generally considered by military experts to be out of reach of all but the most powerful bombs.


Asked if he had decided whether to strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities, Trump said, “I may do it, I may not do it.” And he repeated his insistence of Iran’s unconditional surrender: “The next week is going to be very big, maybe less than a week.”


Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier said his country wouldn’t surrender and warned any U.S. military intervention would bring irreparable consequences.


The U.S. military has built up forces in the Middle East in recent days. A third U.S. Navy destroyer entered the eastern Mediterranean Sea and a second U.S. carrier strike group is heading toward the Arabian Sea. While the Pentagon said the military build-up is purely defensive, it better positions the U.S. should Trump decide to join Israeli attacks on Iran. It could also be a tactic to pressure Iran to capitulate or make concessions.


Israel and Iran have continued to exchange fire, and the death toll in Iran rose above 450, according to a human-rights group. In Israel, 24 people have died as a result of Iranian strikes.


What else to know:

Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), who earlier sparred with talk-show host Tucker Carlson over the conflict, sees a possible U.S. bunker buster strike in Iran, but no boots on the ground.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is advancing “step by step” toward eliminating Iran’s nuclear program and its ballistic missiles.

The Israeli military said it struck eight Iranian attack helicopters at a military base and 40 missile-infrastructure components in western Iran.

The U.S. Embassy in Israel is arranging evacuation flights for American citizens seeking to leave the country, Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said.


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