President Trump felt Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave him “the middle finger” when Iran shrugged off his push for diplomacy, solidifying his decision to bomb Tehran’s nuclear facilities, according to a new report.
In the final moments before Saturday’s airstrike, Trump’s frustration with Tehran reached its limit, with the president sure the attack against the Fordow fuel enrichment plant would go off without a hitch amid the flood of reports that he was still undecided.
“In the end, it was everything. The timing was right,” a Trump confidant told Axios. “The Ayatollah gave Trump and the U.S. the middle finger. And that came with a price.”
Trump had warned Tehran to agree to a new nuclear deal last week lest there be consequences. Turkey was reportedly working to put together a meeting between the Trump administration and Iranian officials.
Trump even offered to go himself and meet Iran’s supreme leader if it would mean the talks could go forward, according to reports.
The talks, however, never materialized.
