The New York Times reported Thursday evening that President Donald Trump ordered air and naval strikes against Iranian targets in response to the shooting down of a U.S. Navy drone earlier that day, but canceled them “abruptly.”
The Times reported:
President Trump approved military strikes against Iran in retaliation for downing an American surveillance drone, but pulled back from launching them on Thursday night after a day of escalating tensions.
…
The operation was underway in its early stages when it was called off, a senior 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 official said.
…
It was not clear whether Mr. Trump simply changed his mind on the strikes or whether the administration altered course because of logistics or strategy. It was also not clear whether the attacks might still go forward.
The Times added a curious detail: “No government officials asked The New York Times to withhold the article.”
DC pipe bomb suspect says someone needed to ‘speak up’ about stolen election claims
Marjorie Taylor Greene criticizes Trump’s meetings with Zelenskyy, Netanyahu: ‘Can we just do America’
Tim Walz pushes back on Minnesota fraud allegations following viral daycare video
Ilhan Omar’s Somaliland stance slammed as Minnesota fraud scandal deepens
Trump, Zelenskyy say Ukraine peace deal close but ‘thorny issues’ remain after Florida talks
ICE delivers ‘greatest gift of all’ with Christmas arrests of convicted criminals across multiple states
Major cities see violent crime surge as national rates plummet significantly in 2025: survey
Deadly helicopter collision in New Jersey kills one, critically injures another
Is This Legal?: Leftist Group Recruits Military Officials to Turn Against Trump’s Drug Cartel Strikes
FBI surges resources to Minnesota as Patel calls $250M fraud scheme ‘tip of iceberg’
‘Worst of the worst’: The 10 most violent illegal immigrants nabbed in 2025
Brits Weighed In on Whether Die Hard Is a Christmas Movie – Do You Agree with Them?
‘We are not afraid’: Erika Kirk vows TPUSA will continue campus debates nationwide
Crockett Flies Into a Rage Over Vance’s ‘Street-Girl Persona’ Comments
Unsung heroes of 2025: First responders and everyday Americans who saved lives across US
Trump’s critics accused him of “cold feet.” But the fact that the administration did not try to stop the story also suggests it could have been leaked deliberately. Indeed, at least one other reporter claimed he had received similar information:
.@nytimes scooping me again. I was sitting on this information for six hours. Can confirm this reporting. https://t.co/SLgwuKeAO4
— Jim LaPorta (@JimLaPorta) June 21, 2019
DC pipe bomb suspect says someone needed to ‘speak up’ about stolen election claims
Marjorie Taylor Greene criticizes Trump’s meetings with Zelenskyy, Netanyahu: ‘Can we just do America’
Tim Walz pushes back on Minnesota fraud allegations following viral daycare video
Ilhan Omar’s Somaliland stance slammed as Minnesota fraud scandal deepens
Trump, Zelenskyy say Ukraine peace deal close but ‘thorny issues’ remain after Florida talks
ICE delivers ‘greatest gift of all’ with Christmas arrests of convicted criminals across multiple states
Major cities see violent crime surge as national rates plummet significantly in 2025: survey
Deadly helicopter collision in New Jersey kills one, critically injures another
Is This Legal?: Leftist Group Recruits Military Officials to Turn Against Trump’s Drug Cartel Strikes
FBI surges resources to Minnesota as Patel calls $250M fraud scheme ‘tip of iceberg’
‘Worst of the worst’: The 10 most violent illegal immigrants nabbed in 2025
Brits Weighed In on Whether Die Hard Is a Christmas Movie – Do You Agree with Them?
‘We are not afraid’: Erika Kirk vows TPUSA will continue campus debates nationwide
Crockett Flies Into a Rage Over Vance’s ‘Street-Girl Persona’ Comments
Unsung heroes of 2025: First responders and everyday Americans who saved lives across US
Trump tweeted Thursday morning that “Iran made a very big mistake!”, but later suggested that the “mistake” may have simply been an accident. In the double meaning of the word “mistake,” he preserved both the threat of retaliation and the possibility of a diplomatic solution.
Regardless, Iran will know how close it was to being attacked, and still is.
Story cited here.
