Reference News Network, June 23 report. According to the ABC News website, June 23 report, two officials told ABC that US President Trump and Turkish President Erdogan secretly tried to arrange a meeting between senior US and Iranian officials in Istanbul last week.
These two officials said that Erdogan called Trump during the G7 summit on June 16, suggesting a meeting in Istanbul the next day.
This meeting never took place. These two US officials told ABC that the Iranian Supreme Leader was unable to be contacted because he was worried about being assassinated, so no one could approve the meeting.
The report said that the US president took this special action after weeks of tense situations and changing information.
Senior US government officials said that diplomatic efforts were made by the US a week before the attack, mainly through the presidential envoy Steven Witkoff.
While the US government was making diplomatic efforts, the Pentagon was also preparing for this operation. According to sources, US officials have become increasingly convinced that Iran would not sit at the negotiation table to reach an agreement.
It is said that Trump received daily briefings on Israeli efforts and military operations when deciding whether to continue the action. Trump maintained close contact with Defense Secretary Esper until the final decision was made.
A senior official told ABC that Trump gave the final order for the attack to Esper on June 21. (Translated by Qing Songzhu)
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7519041376512852532/
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