US official: Trump demanded from his advisors the options to hit Iranian posts, but retreated

The official said Trump made the request during a meeting on Thursday with his top national security aides, including Vice President Mike Pence, Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller and General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The official confirmed a report of the meeting in the New York Times that said advisers had persuaded Trump not to implement any strike, that will cause conflict widely.

"He asked for options, so they gave him the scenarios, and in the end he decided not to go ahead," the official said.

His request for options came a day after a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency of the United Nations showed that Iran had completed the transfer of its first series of advanced centrifuges from an above ground facility at its main uranium enrichment site to an underground facility in new violation of its nuclear agreement with the major powers.

In the context, Trump's administration prepares to classify Houthis in Yemen as Terrorist organization before departing his position in the next January, according about what reported by Foreign Policy from diplomatic resources.   

The American magazine quoted a diplomatic source as saying that the outgoing Trump administration had been considering taking that step for some time, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wanted to accelerate this path.

The magazine indicated that this measure comes within the framework of the Republican administration's efforts to increase pressure on Iran and its allies in the Middle East in recent months before its departure, which would complicate President-elect Joe Biden's efforts to reopen the gate of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.

Senator Chris Murphy, a Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says any such move would be "a clear attempt by the Trump administration to obstacle future peace negotiations."

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ANHA