US and Israeli intelligence tracked rare high-level Iranian meetings as negotiations faltered, culminating in Trump approving the most expansive American military action against Tehran in years.
US President Donald Trump | Photo: X/@WhiteHouse
US President Donald Trump authorised large-scale military strikes on Iran after weeks of back-channel talks, intelligence coordination, and mounting pressure from allies in the Middle East, according to reports by major American newspapers.
The move came at a moment US and Israeli agencies believed was rare: several senior Iranian political and military figures were gathered together. That convergence, officials told US media, created what they saw as an unusual opening. In response, American and Israeli aircraft carried out strikes in broad daylight, a signal of how extraordinary the timing was considered.
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The Wall Street Journal reported that intelligence teams had tracked not one but three high-level meetings and were also aware of the whereabouts of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Officials described the situation as a fleeting chance that might not come again soon.
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Yet, The Washington Post said the decision was taken even though US intelligence agencies had not identified an immediate threat to the American mainland. Some Democratic lawmakers later echoed that concern. Senator Mark R Warner publicly asked what the urgent danger had been, saying he did not have a clear answer.
Regional partners, however, urged Washington to act. According to the Post, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made repeated calls pushing for military action. Behind closed doors, the Trump administration continued diplomatic outreach even as it strengthened its military presence in the region.
Politico described this as a two-track approach: envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were tasked with negotiations, while US forces were reinforced across Middle Eastern bases. The Journal reported that aircraft carriers, destroyers, and advanced fighter jets were deployed in what it called the biggest American military buildup in the region in two decades.
By the end of the week, Trump concluded that Tehran was unwilling to give a clear and public assurance that it would abandon nuclear weapons ambitions. Three senior administration officials told US media that this assessment prompted the final decision to strike. A senior official quoted by the Post said talks stalled because Iran wanted to “to preserve their ability to do enrichment so that, over time, they could use it for a nuclear bomb”.
Trump had signalled that a major call was imminent. Speaking to supporters in Texas days before the operation, he said: “We have a big decision to make… Not easy, not easy. We have a very big decision to make.”
When that commitment from Iran did not materialise, the diplomatic window narrowed. Vice President JD Vance monitored developments from the White House Situation Room, while Trump followed the operation from Mar-a-Lago, according to the Post.
Trump later defended the action by pointing to decades of hostility. He said the US had endured repeated attacks and provocations over 47 years and argued that patience had limits.
The strikes represent the most significant direct US military action against Iran in recent years. Officials appear to have calculated that coordinated air power, without deploying ground troops, could alter the balance while containing the risk of a prolonged conflict.
Relations between Washington and Tehran have remained strained since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the US Embassy hostage crisis. Disputes over Iran’s nuclear programme, regional proxy wars and attacks on US forces have triggered repeated flare-ups over the decades.
As a result of this latest move, tensions are now in an uncertain phase.
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