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A pause in strikes between Iran and the United States apparently came because President Donald Trump did not give the go ahead for that day’s planned military action, according to a report Saturday from Axios.
Trump reportedly told the military not to unleash any new strikes against Iran on Friday, marking a pause in the hostilities after 13 straight days of strikes.
Sources told Axios that Trump received a plan for strikes from the military but did not give his approval to carry it out.
The recent escalation in hostilities came after a memorandum of understanding between the two nations, which was supposed to include a ceasefire, fell apart.
There were also no reported new strikes from Iran on American targets in the region Saturday, according to reports,
The apparent pause in airstrikes came after Trump told Axios reporter Barak Ravid Thursday that he was mulling military strikes that would go beyond anything carried out since Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28.
The president told the outlet he had not yet made a final decision.
“I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,” Trump said, adding of Iran, “They haven’t received enough pain yet.”
The reported pause also came a day after Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office and refused to answer a direct questions as to whether blowing up bridges, power plants and water desalination facilities constitutes a war crime.
Trump refused to answer when asked if blowing up civilian sites in Iran constituted a war crime.
“I won’t respond to that question,” the president told Shawn McCreesh of The New York Times.
Four American troops were recently killed in the conflict, bringing the death toll to 18 since the war began.
The post Trump Reportedly Ordered Pause in Iran Strikes After 13 Straight days first appeared on Mediaite.
