Sources: Pentagon prepared Iran plans as final attempts at diplomacy failed
President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan quietly tried to arrange a meeting between senior U.S. and Iranian officials in Istanbul last week, two officials told ABC News.
Erdoğan called Trump on Monday during the G7 Summit and suggested a meeting in Istanbul for the next day, those officials said.
That meeting would never happen. Iran's supreme leader, fearing assassination, went into hiding and couldn't be reached to approve the meeting, those U.S. officials told ABC News.
MORE: Israel-Iran live updates
The White House declined to comment. Axios was first to report the details.
The president's extraordinary action followed weeks of tension and shifting messages.
When we traveled with the president to his Bedminster golf club on the weekend of June 8, there was a sudden shift in schedule: The president would no longer be traveling back to the White House but instead, he would be traveling to Camp David on Sunday.
Among the topics the president was briefed on then was the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, according to sources. And, more specifically, Israel's plans to move forward with a strike on Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would later convey his plans directly to Trump. Since the Israeli initial strike on Iran, Netanyahu and the president have remained in close contact -- speaking almost every single day, multiple sources tell ABC News.
MORE: Hegseth insists Iran strikes were 'intentionally limited' as US faces prospect of escalating war
Just one week ago, in a brief phone interview, the president told me he wouldn't give Iran a deadline. He mulled the possibility of Russia serving as a mediator, an idea he later abandoned. He said it was 'possible' the U.S. could get involved, but the administration was not there yet.
He would then abruptly leave the G7 Summit, traveling back to the White House, holding meetings with his national security team day after day.
His tone started to change surrounding Iran. It appeared he was warming up to the idea of the United States getting involved. We reported the president approved attack plans, but did not make a final decision.
He set that two-week deadline —giving Iran 14 days max to come to the table.
Two days later, the U.S. would strike.
The president departed his Bedminster golf club Saturday afternoon and returned to the White House for a national security meeting.
MORE: 'Way too early' to know full damage done to Iran nuclear sites, Joint Chiefs chairman says
The senior administration official said that in the week leading up to the strike, efforts were made for diplomacy, mainly through the president's special envoy, Steve Witkoff.
As those efforts continued, the Pentagon simultaneously prepared the operation. By the end of the week, there was a growing belief among U.S. officials that Iran was not going to come to the table to reach a deal, according to sources.
I'm told Trump was briefed daily on Israel's efforts and the operation itself as he decided whether to move forward. He stayed in close contact with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth while traveling to Bedminster, receiving updates until he made the final call.
The president gave the final order to strike to Hegseth on Saturday, a senior administration official told ABC News.
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