Trump:US was ‘cocked & loaded’ against Iran, but he backed away from attack

WASHINGTON — President Trump said Friday he abruptly canceled a planned U.S. missile strike against three Iranian targets “10 minutes before” it was set to launch because he was told the raid would likely kill 150 Iranians.

“We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights,” Trump tweeted. “When I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a General.”

Later in the day, in an interview with NBC News, Trump offered a somewhat different account, saying that he called off the strike about “30 minutes” before it would have been irreversible.

The aborted U.S. attack was planned in retaliation for the Iranian shoot-down before dawn Thursday of an unarmed U.S. military surveillance drone near the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil shipping.

Iran said it launched a ground-to-air missile because the unmanned aircraft was in its airspace, while the Pentagon said the jet-powered Navy drone was hit over international waters. Both sides offered competing maps and videos to buttress their claims.

Trump argued that the planned U.S. retaliation was “not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone.”

Trump’s last-minute pullback was hailed by those who feared U.S. air strikes would soon escalate into an armed conflict with Iran, and criticized by those — including some Republicans.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a former Air Force pilot, said Trump’s decision not to respond to what the lawmaker called “a direct attack on U.S. assets” was a disappointment.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, issued a statement Friday that implicitly criticized Trump for a lack of clear strategy. “We are in an extremely dangerous and sensitive situation with Iran. We must calibrate a response that...