Donald Trump Approves Strikes on Iran, but Then Abruptly Pulls Back

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The last time US President Donald Trump canceled the military strikes he had approved earlier on Iran in response to the American drone shot down by Tehran. The operation was underway in its early stages when it was called off, a senior presidential administration official said. Planes were in the air and ships were in position, but no missiles had been fired when word came to stand down, the White House official said. It was also not clear whether the attacks might still go forward. The strike was set to take place just before dawn Friday in Iran to minimize risk to the Iranian military and civilians. Officials said the president had initially approved attacks on a handful of Iranian targets, like radar and missile batteries. The United States made preparations for a military strike against Iran on Thursday night in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. surveillance drone, but the operation was abruptly called off with just hours to go, a U.S. official said. The day before Iran shot down an American surveillance drone. According to the Iranian authorities, the drone invaded Iranian airspace. The loss surveillance apparatus is recognized in the Pentagon. It was reported that surveillance aircraft was flying over international waters when it was taken down by an Iranian missile. Later President Trump declared that shooting down the drone was a foolish error rather than an intentional escalation. Svoboda.org