Three sources have revealed that a “secret phone call” between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 23rd triggered the war against Iran.
Critical intelligence information
Axios quoted a source as saying, “Prime Minister Netanyahu called President Trump that day and disclosed critical intelligence that Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and his senior advisers would meet in Tehran on the morning of February 28th, and that this was an opportunity to assassinate them in one devastating airstrike.”
Sources said Trump had intended to launch an attack on Iran before learning of the new intelligence, but did not decide on the timing of the attack until he received a call from the Israeli prime minister because Khamenei and his inner circle were “an attractive target” that Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not want to miss.
American and Israeli officials said the Feb. 23 phone call was part of months of intensive coordination between President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which included two meetings and 15 phone calls in the past two months leading up to the day of the Iranian attack.
It added that the U.S. government and Tel Aviv discussed carrying out the airstrike a week before the scheduled date, but it was later postponed for intelligence and operational reasons, including bad weather.
Check information about Israel
According to Axios, President Trump requested a preliminary audit from the CIA to verify information collected by Israeli intelligence, after which the agency confirmed the legitimacy of the “simultaneous presence” of Khamenei and his entourage in the same location.
U.S. officials have revealed that President Trump intentionally did not focus too much on Iran in his February 25 State of the Union address to avoid arousing suspicion and prompting Iranian leaders to change their behavior.
The source said that by February 26, the CIA was completely confident that Khamenei and his advisers were all present, and “we had to take advantage of that.”
diplomatic failure
On the same day, U.S. Special Envoy Jared Kushner and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff issued an assessment from Geneva that talks with Iranian officials had reached a “stalemate,” according to sources familiar with the matter.
At the time, President Trump was convinced of two things: the validity of intelligence information and the failure of diplomacy with Iran. At 3:38 p.m. ET on February 27, he made his final decision. Then, 11 hours later, a bomb was dropped on Tehran, killing Khamenei and starting the war.
Axios noted that Trump was willing to listen to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s views, but insisted he would “first do some thorough diplomacy” at a time when negotiating channels are working in parallel with joint military planning.
President Trump rejected suggestions that Prime Minister Netanyahu may have been behind the decision to attack. Yesterday, on Tuesday, he assessed that Iran could launch a “pre-emptive strike”, adding: “If anything, I may have been the one who forced Israel to act.”
Three sources have revealed that a “secret phone call” between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 23rd ignited the fuse for war against Iran.
very important intelligence information
As reported by Axios, sources said: Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Netanyahu called President Trump and revealed vital information indicating that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his senior advisers would gather in one location in Tehran on the morning of February 28, saying this was an opportunity to assassinate them in one devastating airstrike.
Sources suggested that Trump had intended to attack Iran before learning the new information, but had not made a final decision on the timing of the attack until he received a call from the Israeli prime minister because Khamenei and his inner circle were “an attractive target” that Trump and Netanyahu did not want to miss.
U.S. and Israeli officials said the Feb. 23 call was part of months of intensive coordination between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, which included two meetings and 15 phone calls in the two months leading up to the planned attack on Iran.
It added that the US government and Tel Aviv had discussed carrying out an airstrike a week ago, but it was postponed for intelligence and operational reasons, including bad weather.
Verification of Israeli information
According to Axios, President Trump asked the CIA to conduct a preliminary investigation to verify information collected by Israeli intelligence, and the CIA subsequently confirmed that Khamenei and his inner circle were “simultaneously present” in the same location.
U.S. officials have revealed that President Trump intentionally downplayed Iran in his February 25 State of the Union address to avoid arousing suspicion and prompting Iranian leaders to change their moves.
The source said that by February 26, the CIA had full confidence that Khamenei and his advisers would all be together, and “we had to take advantage of that.”
failure of diplomacy
On the same day, U.S. special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff presented their assessment from Geneva that talks with Iranian officials had reached an “impasse,” according to sources familiar with the matter.
At this point, President Trump was convinced of two things: the accuracy of the information and the failure of diplomacy with Iran. At exactly 3:38 p.m. ET on February 27, he made his final decision. Then, 11 hours later, a bomb was dropped on Tehran, killing Khamenei and starting the war.
Axios noted that President Trump was willing to listen to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s views, but insisted on “deep diplomacy first” while negotiating channels are working in parallel with the joint military plan.
President Trump denied any implication that Prime Minister Netanyahu drove the decision to attack. Yesterday, he assessed that Iran could launch a “first strike”, adding: “If anything, I may have been the one who forced Israel to act.”
