Washington – The Trump administration was preparing for Friday a new round of military strikes against Iran, according to sources with direct knowledge of the planning, as diplomacy continued.
No final decision on the strikes had been reached as of Friday afternoon.
“Government Related Situations” they stopped President Trump from attending the wedding of his son Donald Trump Jr. this weekend, he said on social media. The president had planned to spend Memorial Day weekend at his golf course in New Jersey but will now return to the White House.
Some members of the U.S. military and intelligence community have canceled their plans for the Memorial Day weekend in anticipation of possible strikes, several sources said.
Defense and intelligence officials have begun reviewing rosters to commemorate US deployments overseas as military divisions stationed in the Middle East rotate out of theaters, part of an effort to reduce US military presence in the region amid concerns about possible Iranian retaliation.
The U.S. and Iran have largely refused to hit each other since a temporary ceasefire began in early April, buying time for indirect talks on a long-term deal.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told CBS News that Mr. Trump “has made it clear that his redline is: Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, and they cannot keep their enriched uranium.”
“The President always retains all options at all times, and it is the Pentagon's job to be ready to issue whatever decision the Commander-in-Chief may make,” Kelly said. “The President was clear about the consequences if Iran fails to make a deal.”
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps he warned Wednesday that any further counter-terrorism strikes from the United States or Israel could expand the conflict beyond the Middle East, promising “devastating blows … in places you can't imagine.”
Tehran i review the latest US proposal for a possible deal to end the nearly three-month-old war that has rattled energy markets and sent fuel prices soaring. The proposal was forwarded to Iran on Wednesday, according to a source who told CBS News that it also comes with a warning that rejecting the so-called final proposal would mean military strikes would resume.
“Iran is dying to make a deal,” Mr. Trump on Friday. “We'll see what happens.”
The president said on Wednesday he was willing to give Tehran “a few days” to respond to the latest US request. He added that his team was “very impressed” by Iran's negotiators, but warned that the administration would need substantial assurances to prevent the conflict from continuing.
The response is expected to be conveyed through Pakistan, which has been acting as a mediator.
Before boarding the plane to India, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the US is waiting to get a response from the Pakistani field marshal, who has served as the main channel of communication with Iran on behalf of the Trump administration. Rubio said that Trump prefers diplomacy to strikes and said that progress has been made, although he pointed out that there is a lot of work to be done.
Rubio also referred to discussions from Sweden's meetings with NATO members about how to reopen the Strait of Hormuz with military force, an effort he called “Plan B” if Iran did not agree to do so on its own.
In Washington, House Republicans on Thursday abandoned an attempt to hold a vote limiting President Trump's authority to conduct military operations against Iran after concluding they did not have the votes needed to stop the resolution from going forward.
