PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Thursday night abruptly called off a military strike against Iran that had been planned in retaliation for the downing of a sophisticated American drone over international waters.
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The New York Times first reported that the president had approved the retaliatory measure after Iran shot down a multimillion-dollar Navy RQ-4 Global Hawk drone with a surface-to-air missile near the Strait of Hormuz.
Military and diplomatic officials were reportedly expecting the strike against Iranian radar and missile sites as late as 7 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, with planes in the air and ships in position to carry it out. It’s not clear whether Trump abruptly changed his mind about carrying out the strikes or if some unforeseen logistical hurdle interfered with the U.S. plans.
In a series of tweets Friday morning, Trump said the U.S. was “cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different [sites]” before a general told him 150 people would die in the strike.
Trump said he believed the strike was “not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone.” He added he is in “no hurry” and that sanctions his administration has imposed against Iran are “biting.” He said he added more Thursday night.
The strike would have been Trump’s third against targets in the Middle East. He ordered two missile strikes against Syrian targets in 2017 and 2018. He also authorized a previously planned Navy SEAL raid in Yemen days into his administration in early 2017, which resulted in the death of one of the commandos.
Speaking to reporters earlier on Thursday, Trump said Iran had made “a very big mistake” in attacking the drone, which Tehran on Friday continued to say was in Iranian airspace at the time it was shot down. Trump also indicated he believed Iran’s top leadership may not have ordered the strike, suggesting instead that it may have been carried out by someone “loose and stupid.”
U.S. officials said the drone was shot down over international waters, where it fell after it was shot down. Officials from Iran claimed Friday it had recovered parts of the drone within its territory.
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