The President explained in a series of tweets that he planned to attack Iran but changed his mind 10 minutes before the assault was supposed to take place.
What We Know:
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On Friday, President Trump announced that he approved military strikes on three different locations in Iran.
- The strikes were planned in response to a U.S. RQ-4A Global Hawk surveillance drone being shot down in Iran on Monday. The drone was unmanned.
- Trump says he called off the attack after learning the number of casualties it would produce. He stated, “When I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a General. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it, not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone.”
- The tension between the U.S. and Iran has been escalating lately. Last week, the U.S. accused the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of attacking two tankers in the Gulf of Oman. They also attempted to shoot down another surveillance drone in the same area but failed.
- 1,000 troops are being sent to the Middle East in response to these occurrences.
….On Monday they shot down an unmanned drone flying in International Waters. We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights when I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a General. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it, not….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2019
Thankfully, we were able to keep the peace this time.
