"Trump was already leaning toward striking Iran before learning the new intelligence about Khamenei. What he hadn't decided was when - until Netanyahu called. The Feb. 23 call was part of months of intensive coordination between the two leaders, who met twice and spoke by phone 15 times in the two months leading to the war, according to U.S. and Israeli officials."
"U.S. officials said Trump made a 'deliberate decision' not to focus excessively on Iran so as not to spook the ayatollah and drive him underground before the strike could be executed. By Thursday, the CIA had fully 'confirmed that these people were all going to be together, and we needed to take advantage of it,' a source said."
"That same day, Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff called from Geneva after hours of talks with Iranian officials and delivered a blunt verdict: negotiations were going nowhere. 'If you decide you want to do diplomacy, we will push and fight to get a deal. But these guys showed us they weren't willing to make the deal you will be satisfied with.'"
Trump and Netanyahu conducted months of intensive coordination, meeting twice and speaking 15 times before launching a strike operation. Trump was already inclined toward striking Iran when Netanyahu called with critical intelligence about Khamenei's whereabouts. The CIA confirmed Israeli military intelligence about Khamenei's location and movements. An initial strike was postponed a week earlier due to weather and operational concerns. Trump deliberately avoided emphasizing Iran in his State of the Union address to prevent alerting the ayatollah. By Thursday, the CIA confirmed the target group would be together. Simultaneously, Trump's envoys reported from Geneva that Iranian negotiations had reached an impasse, with Iranian officials unwilling to meet Trump's terms. These factors combined convinced Trump that both the intelligence was reliable and diplomatic alternatives were exhausted.
#trump-netanyahu-coordination #iran-strike-operation #khamenei-targeting #diplomatic-failure #military-intelligence
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