"The order never came": Behind the scenes of Trump's Iran pullback

"But with insufficient military hardware in the region, warnings from allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia, concern among top aides about the implications and effectiveness of the strike options, and secret backchannel talks with the Iranians, he chose not to pull the trigger. This account of Trump's decision-making over the past ten days is based on interviews with four U.S. officials, two Israeli officials and two other sources with knowledge of the behind-the-scenes discussions."

"While Trump first threatened on Jan. 2 to intervene if the regime "violently kills peaceful protesters," it would be several days before his administration began to see the demonstrations as a pivotal moment for Iran. With limited visibility into the events on the ground, U.S. intelligence initially assessed that the protests lacked sufficient energy to significantly threaten the regime. That changed on Jan. 8, when the protests in Tehran and other cities surged in intensity."

"Jan. 13: Trump presented with strike options On Tuesday evening, after returning from a speech in Detroit, Trump entered the Situation Room to be briefed on military options. Trump received intelligence briefings in the days leading up to the meeting and had been regularly updated by Vance and Rubio, but this was the first time he officially chaired a meeting on the protests."

Trump considered military strikes against Iran amid nationwide protests in early January but ultimately refrained. U.S. intelligence initially judged the demonstrations unlikely to threaten the regime, but assessments shifted after a surge on Jan. 8 and an internet blackout. High-level White House discussions began Jan. 9 chaired by Vice President Vance, and diplomatic outreach occurred through a backchannel between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff. On Jan. 13 Trump received Situation Room briefings and strike options, but concerns about limited regional military hardware, warnings from allies, doubts among aides, and secret de-escalatory talks led to withholding direct military action.

Read at Axios