Immediately after US officials in Washington received word that Tower 22 in Jordan was struck last weekend — ultimately resulting in the deaths of three American service members — President Joe Biden was presented with, and approved, a range of options on Sunday for retaliation, sources say.
It was in a meeting in the Situation Room with his top national security advisers the following morning that Biden gave the specific green light for the first set of strikes in Iraq and Syria that was executed Friday. The US said 85 targets were struck.
It was also in that same Monday morning meeting that the president was informed of the assessment that militant groups backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were to blame for the Sunday drone attack, according to sources.
In the days to come, the president’s national security team worked in close coordination with the Department of Defense as they monitored conditions in the region to finalize plans.
Officials had told reporters Friday night that weather in the region had been a significant factor for why the strikes were carried out when they were.
Senior officials from multiple agencies convened Thursday, then again Friday morning for a “final check,” before proceeding with Friday’s strikes.
Source: CNN