Morning Note

At this time five days ago, top officials in Washington and the Middle East believed American missiles would descend upon Iran within hours.

Sources say the White House held its first meeting on a potential act of war against the Islamic Republic on January 9th, and military leaders presented Donald Trump with attack options four days later. The proposals revolved around assaults on regime targets around the country, launched from U.S. warships and submarines.

When Wednesday morning arrived, the expectation inside the administration and the Iranian government was that rockets were about to fly. American troops began evacuating the region’s largest U.S. military base, and the Iranians closed their airspace. Then everything changed. The president pulled back.

What caused his change of heart? Warnings of caution from Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and others reportedly played a major role, as did the threat of potential Iranian retaliation. The saga reached its glorious ending on Thursday, when Lindsey Graham appeared on the verge of tears over America’s lack of violent intervention. He fled to Israel within hours.

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