Trump’s Iran attack catches world off-guard after fakeouts with B-2 flights and ‘two weeks’ timeframe
WASHINGTON — President Trump caught the world off-guard Saturday by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites — after his apparently strategic deception indicating that such strikes weren’t imminent and trickery with the deployment of US Air Force B-2 bombers.
Trump said Thursday he would make a decision in the “next two weeks” to allow more time for negotiations, giving the sense of reprieve to about a week of fevered speculation after Israel initiated its airstrikes.
“Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” Trump said in a statement just two days before the unprecedented US attack.
The timing was stunning in part because six B-2 stealth bombers capable of carrying 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs had been tracked leaving Missouri early Saturday — and were believed to be incapable of reaching Iran until late Sunday.
The B-2 is believed to be the main type of plane capable of delivering 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs capable of obliterating underground facilities.
