NBC News: Trump relies on narrow circle of advisers as he weighs strikes on Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump is increasingly relying on a small group of advisers for critical information when weighing whether to take military action against Iran. This was reported by the TV channel NBC News, citing two Pentagon officials and a White House official.
According to another senior White House official, Trump has been crowdsourcing with a range of allies inside and outside the administration on whether they think he should authorize strikes on Iran, an issue that has divided his core supporters.
Although Trump regularly asks a broad group of people what they think he should do, he tends to make many decisions with a small number of administration officials.
The interlocutors said that this group includes US Vice President J.D. Vance, White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also the interim national security adviser.
Trump also leans on his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff when weighing decisions that fall within his purview, one of the sources added.
In deciding whether to engage the United States directly in a war with Iran, Trump has expanded his circle of contacts in some respects and narrowed it in others. He has removed Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who opposes US strikes in Iran, and, according to three interlocutors, does not always consult Defense Secretary Pete Hagel in his decision-making process.
But Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell denied suggestions that Hagseth was not actively involved.
"That statement is absolutely false. The secretary of defense talks to the president several times a day and was in the Situation Room with the president this week," Parnell said .
The sources said that Trump is listening to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Kane, Commander of the US Central Command Eric Kurilla and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Ratcliffe.
The sources added that unlike virtually every US president since World War II, Trump does not rely on senior officials to carefully prepare foreign policy and military options and then discuss them with him in a structured, deliberative manner.
They say he discusses foreign policy with officials in his administration, as well as with a host of foreign leaders and contacts outside the government. But these discussions are more informal and free-flowing. As a result, there may be fewer opportunities for officials or senior military commanders to question Trump's assumptions or raise concerns about a course of action.
- On June 13, Israel announced the launch of an operation against Iran. The United States did not participate in the strikes at the time.
- On June 17, the NYT reported that Iran had prepared missiles and other military equipment to strike U.S. bases in the region, if US forces join the fighting.
- On June 18, Khamenei threatened the US with "irreparable damage" if it joined the strikes against Iran.
- On June 19, the White House said that Trump would make a decision on Iran within two weeks.
