Late Wednesday morning, much of the Middle East and official Washington believed US President Donald Trump was on the verge of ordering punishing US airstrikes against Iran, The Washington Post reported on Saturday, providing new details on Trump’s ultimate decision not to carry out the strikes.
While Trump had not formally issued the order, senior security advisers expected authorization to come imminently and were preparing for a long night.
“HELP IS ON ITS WAY," Trump wrote Tuesday morning in a social media post addressed to Iranian protesters, urging them to “take over" regime institutions. While many US and foreign officials interpreted the message as signaling imminent military action, Trump continued to consider other forms of pressure aimed at stopping Tehran from killing demonstrators.
A turning point came Wednesday when Trump received word through envoy Steve Witkoff that Iran had canceled the planned executions of 800 people, according to a senior US official.
“We’re going to watch and see," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. US intelligence confirmed Thursday that the executions did not take place, the official said.
Trump’s midweek shift, which left advisers unsettled and Iranian dissidents disillusioned, reflected intense domestic and international pressure, according to interviews conducted by The Washington Post with more than a dozen current and former US and Middle Eastern officials. They spoke anonymously to describe sensitive diplomatic exchanges and ongoing military preparations.
Officials said Trump confronted the unpredictability of further destabilizing the Middle East and the limits of US military power. Pentagon officials were concerned that, after deploying an aircraft carrier strike group to the Caribbean on Trump’s orders, US firepower in the Middle East was less than ideal to repel an anticipated Iranian response.
Israel shared those concerns, having expended large numbers of interceptor missiles during a 12-day conflict with Iran in June, according to one current and one former US official.
Key US allies, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt, urged restraint and diplomacy, a senior Arab diplomat and a Gulf official said. While these Sunni Muslim-majority nations view Shiite-majority Iran as a threat, they feared broader regional instability even more.
Several officials said Trump also weighed the potential for economic disruption, wider warfare, and threats to some 30,000 US troops in the region. These risks, they said, differed sharply from the limited “one and done" operations Trump has previously ordered.
“He wants [operations like] Venezuela," said a former US official briefed on the deliberations. “This was going to be messier."
While strikes appear off the table for now, Trump and his advisers are keeping options open as the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group heads toward the Middle East, according to The Post. The carrier was in the South China Sea on Friday and remains more than a week away, officials said.
Inside the administration, views diverged. Vice President JD Vance supported strikes, arguing Trump needed to enforce his warning to Iran not to kill protesters. CIA Director John Ratcliffe presented Trump with videos of regime violence against demonstrators, though it was unclear whether he advocated military action.
Other advisers, including Witkoff and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, urged caution. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued for allowing sanctions to take effect. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, remained at the White House throughout the day.
After reviewing military options, Trump concluded the benefits did not outweigh the risks. “Would a strike have resulted in regime change? The answer is clearly ‘no,’" said an individual close to the administration. “The negative impact of any attack outweighed any benefit."
Iran, aware of US military movements, contacted Washington. A message from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to Witkoff “kind of also defused the situation," according to the same individual. Trump later said he learned the killings would stop, telling reporters, “I greatly respect the fact that they canceled."
Arab allies, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, and Egypt, continued urging diplomacy.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also urged restraint, according to the report, warning Israel was not fully prepared to defend itself without significant US naval support. The leaders spoke twice, US officials confirmed.
Ultimately, diplomatic pressure and uncertainty over the outcome of military action led Trump to stand down. Vance ultimately agreed with the decision, according to a person familiar with the process.
Officials said Trump could revisit the option of strikes in two to three weeks, once additional US assets arrive in the region. Meanwhile, US Central Command has been directed to plan for round-the-clock high-level support “for the next month," underscoring that tensions remain high.