US President Donald Trump has approved US attack plans for Iran, but is withholding giving the final go-ahead to see if Tehran abandons its nuclear ambitions, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Iran’s key Fordo enrichment facility is buried deep underground, with only the US holding the deep-penetration bombs required to hit it, and Trump has been pressing his aides on whether such a strike would work, according to Axios.
While he deliberates, the conflict continues to escalate: Israel’s defense minister said Thursday that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, can “no longer be allowed to exist,” after an Israeli hospital was hit by Iranian strikes Thursday.
Meanwhile, concerns are rising that the growing hostilities are likely to significantly affect the global economy. Oil tanker operators, for example, have more than doubled their previous rates to sail through the Strait of Hormuz.